Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode
by Child at Heart Forever
Summary: Unleashed adapt. After a tragic encounter in space, Sonic tries to carry on with his carefree life while putting the seven continents of the world back together with help from his new amnesiac friend. He succeeds in the daytime, but when it comes to night, it's not so easy...and coming to grips with that is even harder.
1. What Began in Space

Unleashing Sonic

The world was surrounded by a bright blue haze as it continued to spin in a never ending cycle, with day on one side of the planet, night on the other, and dusk and dawn in the parts between.

_A view better seen from space. _

Unknown to the people that inhabited the world below, a massive red space armada drifted in space, with intentions none other devious. Each craft contained a plethora of weapons, dozens of satellites, and several purple fighter drones marching up and down throughout, but they all paled in comparison to the gigantic red flagship being piloted by a crazed egg-shaped man with only three aspirations in his life.

_Establish Eggmanland, take over the world, and defeat me._

"Oh ho ho ho ho!" Doctor Eggman cackled to himself, patting himself on the back for making it this far with his plan. It wouldn't be his first mechanical fortress or immense fleet, but it was the first time that he managed to make it to space with them, each and every one of his creations still intact…though, not for much longer.

Sensing a disturbance, Eggman ceased his guffawing and stared down at the deck of his flagship. "Hmmm? !"

At the very end of the deck, crouched in a kneeling position but slowly rising, standing in front of a burning hole just recently punctured the flagship…was me.

_Bring it on._

Egg Drones and Egg Fighters rose out from the interior of the flagship, as if Eggman had anticipated my intrusion. Cannons on each and every ship turned and took aim at my current position. Everything I was up against was no match for me, and we both knew that, but regardless, the doctor outstretched his arm, pointed forward, and bellowed out, "FIRE!"

Everything happened at once, with projectiles going everywhere and bursting in fiery explosions. However, I started to run, each and every shot fired just a few milliseconds late from hitting me.

_Yeah! Here we go!_

Detonations and sounds of snapping metal banged at my ears drums, but I remained confident and smug as I snaked my way through the attack. Heh, ol' egg head was destroying his ship_ for_ me- all I had to do was make sure he was down for the count afterward.

I was a blue streak in the midst of orange blasts, which was quite a contrast of color against the black vastness of space. I finally made my way to the Egg Fighters, making a show of curling into a ball and throwing myself into the closest one. After that, I made my way over them by bouncing on their head and launching myself upwards, spreading out my arms and drifting for a few seconds.

_Perfect opportunity for a slow motion effect._

I landed abruptly and took off with an even more abrupt start, running straight at a mega-size drone armed with massive arms. It brought down a massive fist with incredible timing, because it landed right on top of me.

But I just smirked in the face of danger and pushed the fist away with no more than two fingers, sliding my way underneath.

I proceeded to destroy it afterward, swirling around it in a blue flash and jumping away when it blew up. Back on my fleet, I flinched and braced for impact, barreling through another squad of Egg Fighters. Broken pieces flew upwards and crashed back down, a trail of destruction left in my wake.

_Heh, this was too easy!_

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, and when I assumed I had a straight shot to Eggman's cockpit, I glanced back to snicker, only to see a new robot arrive on the scene, jumping down from higher up and blocking off my route. Being manned personally by Eggman, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to end well. Its turrets locked onto me right away and fired on the spot. I grunted and hurdled over his shots (once again destroying his own ship) and soared into the air, curling up and taking aim for an attack of my own.

"Why you little-" I heard him sneer within his containment.

I slammed into the ground, bouncing back up and knocking Eggman's little toy off balance. I whirled around him and continued into the passage ahead. I took off up the wall as Eggman righted himself up and cast a rain of heat-seeking bullets! Hearing a faint whizzing sound, I snuck a peak over my shoulder.

"Huh?"

I picked up speed and attempted to dodge the bullets, quickly stepping out of the way each time and leaving the bullets dancing at my feet. I continued up the wall, Eggman's mech still firing at me! Talk about not knowing when to quit!

I muttered something under my breath as adrenaline kicked in. I ceased running and simply slid along the sleek and slippery red walls, still managing to avoid my death. I finally sprung off the wall and made my way down the corridor, most of the bullets demolished at this point.

_I was almost there…just a bit farther and I could crash the armada!_

"You're not getting away!" Eggman's enraged voice echoed throughout the area. One of the turrets on his suit swapped out for a hand, which extended outwards and chased after me. I had no idea it was coming, and the next thing I knew, five cold metallic appendages had me clasped in its grasp.

"Wuh-oh!"

_I still have no idea how it managed to catch up with me._

The hand reeled it and dragged me back to Eggman, the doctor leaning forward in his seat and beaming with the pride of finally having captured me. I glared back, letting him know that this was far from over.

"Mmmm…"

"What?" he gasped, not looking so confident anymore.

I had closed my eyes and called upon the power of the Chaos Emeralds, the trump card I had brought along with me before even setting foot on Eggman's armada. I may have been spoiled by their powers many times in the past, but playtime was over now- Eggman pushed me to be serious.

Eggman was forced to release me, but not before having both of his mech's arms blown right out. Instead of the cornered cobalt blue hedgehog he had captured before, a brilliantly gold-colored hedgehog emerged, with fierce red eyes to match the determination within.

_And was blessed with the gift of flight. My favorite bonus._

Eggman knew he was doomed now, scrambled to pull himself together and make a quick escape. I blasted through the torso of his mech, leaving a gaping hole and forcing it to the ground in defeat.

_That's what happens when you capture Sonic the Hedgehog._

I flew away from the rumble at the speed of light, once again trying to make it to my destination before Eggman got in my way.

"Uh-oh! Time to g-go! GO!"

He ejected his pod from the remains of his mech, quickly taking off and trying to get a head start. The pod may have been fast, but I was far faster. Eggman shut the doors behind him as he tried to hold me off, but he might as well have put up paper- I tore through them like they weren't even there, leaving yellow flames and blazing explosions behind me.

I felt on top of the world as I took a few more details to destroy more of Eggman's battleship, leaving them no more than huge, powerless husks of metal. This continued until I noticed Eggman's pod headed for a cylinder-like structure, far different than the rest of his armada. Having no idea what purpose it served, I followed Eggman on the spot, cruising on his tail in no time flat.

_It was probably nothing I couldn't handle, right?_

Eggman was knocked about as he hurried through the narrow halls, knowing he had only one more chance to pull off his latest scheme. However, once he entered the room, his pod tipped over and careened him across the floor, the overweight man sliding along the ground until he hit the wall.

Moments later, I entered through the floor, flying up to the ceiling and grinning down at my adversary.

"S-Sonic!" he began to plead, watching me as I made my descent to the floor. "I-I'm sorry! R-really! Look, go easy on me! I'll turn over a new leaf, I swear! Just give me a another chance!"

"Well, this is new," I smirked. "Showing remorse, Eggman? If you played nice, I wouldn't have to break all your toys!"

However, when I looked back down at him, he wasn't the least bit remorseful or frightened. He had on a sneer that said _he _had the upper hand…along with a button tight in his grip.

"Gotcha!"

"Wha-? Huh? !"

He slammed his thumb on the button, a machine of sorts rising from the ground and catching me off guard. It took me a few moments to register what was going on, but I bolted soon afterward, only to be stopped by an electric force field.

_I was trapped._

Panicking internally, I refused to show weakness as several blue rings of energy closed in on me, doing the equivalent of tying me up. I glowered at Eggman as he laughed at me, a pedestal slowly rising from beneath him and bringing him to a control panel. I was about to say something to knock him off his high horse when a purple shockwave rocketed out, jolting me and forcing out a pained scream. I still tried to look intimidating, but once the voltage was raised, I let loose an even louder scream, and lost my super form and several dignity points in one go.

The Chaos Emeralds expelled away from me, taking back the power they loaned me, yet they suddenly were drained of their color and fell lifeless to the floor, blackened and hopeless. Eggman simply watched from above, enjoying it like sane people would enjoy a fireworks show. I was still suffering, though I noticed Eggman started taking less interest in me and something that was going on outside. I managed to spin myself around so I could stare out the window.

_And it stunned me._

This place wasn't a station or anything like that- it was one large laser cannon, ad as power was slowly drained away from me and the Chaos Emeralds, it was opening up, and taking aim at the blue planet below. Now I was panicked for far different reasons- was Eggman about to destroy the world? Would this be the first time Eggman finally got his wish?

_Would it be the first time I let this happen?_

The pain of knowing that I'd be letting everyone on that planet down was much worse to bear than being electrocuted every three seconds.

"Oh, I've waited a long TIME for this!" Eggman cried, dramatically pressing a red button located in front of him, shouting one word that I'd feared he say. "FIRE!"

I was forced to watch as a massive amount of power manifested into one perfect purple laser, plunging from the cannon and striking the planet at a precise point. A catastrophic boom rocked the whole planet, and I could hear the cracks in the ground as the world literally broke to pieces. The electrocution finally gave me mercy and sent me to the ground, but whether from the exhaustion of being exposed to so much pain, or from the overwhelming situation, I couldn't move. The rumbling of the cracked planet was so overbearing, and when I looked out the window one last time, the world had been cracked like an egg into seven perfect pieces.

_Also, with a demonic monster of sorts emerging from the inner core of the planet. Go figure- Eggman needed a new monster of the week to_ not _do his evil bidding. _

"Whoa…" Eggman gasped, not expecting his plan to actually…work.

That's when the shocks kicked in again, but I wouldn't take in this time. Now that I was on the floor, I made a feeble attempt to crawl away, but something was keeping me back…as if lead or something was forced inside me and kept me where I was.

I started to tremble uncontrollably, realizing that something was really, really, wrong. The fur suddenly started to grow and turn darker, covering my entire body. My gloves ripped off, unable to contain the giant clawed blue hands within. My fangs became much more prominent, even growing to twice their size. Once this uncomfortable transformation was complete, I threw my head back and let out a roar.

_Well, this raid could've gone better._

The machine finally lowered, having no need for me or what remained of the Chaos Emeralds any more. Eggman, meanwhile, was in the midst of celebrating.

"Success! A brilliant success! It's just as a manuscripts foretold!" he exclaimed. "The entity that was sealed within the planet has awakened. Now I just need to harness its power. Eggmanland will finally come to be! Nya ha ha ha!"

_Yeesh, Eggmanland again? Why doesn't he just build an amusement park and get his kicks off of that?_

"You've really…gone and done it this time, Eggman," I growled in a voice that could've have been my own, getting ready to attack the doctor. However, Eggman was no longer threatened by my presence.

"Ahh, Sonic! That's a good look for you! _Festive,_" he hit another button, this one opening the window and planning to toss me out. "So long, friend!"

I tried to hang on for as long as I could, but soon enough, I couldn't hang on any long and fell to the planet with the Chaos Emeralds…down to the world that was once so peaceful only minutes ago.

_Things really weren't looking well for me, huh?_

* * *

**Not really a new chapter, I just rewrote the original oneshot and stuck it in this story. I truly do like the improvement. ^^**

**And the reviews are all shifted now, but I don't mind. :P**


	2. Everything Begins

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

_A side effect, they called it. I called it my Negative-Self. Now I think it was my true self. The power was unleashing a side of me I never would have guessed I had. Maybe it was Unleashing the real Sonic…a Sonic veiled by some outside force that wanted someone for the better…_

_Just then, something was pushing, or pulling, me out of the area. I grabbed onto something, but the force was too great and I toppled out into space anyway. The way I screamed on the way down was enough to make me want to hit the ground already! Grawahhallallah…try wailing THAT as a were-hog…ugh!_

Falling…falling…dying…inside and out…these all aren't good feelings! The fall had taken its toll on me, so I stopped screaming eventually, but the sacrifice for that was I had passed out on the way down. I couldn't remember when Eggman had kicked me out, or how long ago it was- the only thing I knew for sure was that I was some hideous creature.

Finally, I managed to open my eyes to a bright flash, and a magic green bubble surrounding me, slowing my fall. It all came slowly, but my mind processed it fast enough to get me to say the following intelligent phase:

"Huh?"

Then, it disappeared in a rainbow spark, and I was falling yet again.

_Just your average Were-Hog bad luck._

As I fell, what little I had of my senses caught that the blackened Chaos Emeralds were coming down with me. They still lacked their incredible power after Eggman sucked it all away, using their power to drain my own. Before I could even scowl just thinking about it again, I hit the ground with a devastating impact, literally creating a crater in the ground with a small explosion.

_Face first. Not a first for yours truly, but it hurt all the same!_

It was a bit of a struggle to free my face from the ground, but I managed to do it! Grabbing my head (with my mind practically spinning rapidly inside), I attempted to make sense of the situation.

What the heck is going on?" I growled.

I briefly scanned the nearby environment- it was the break of dawn; the sun just barely letting out its first rays of sunshine. I was on the edge of a cliff, most likely, since I could see water below. However, what really caught my eye was a small purple dog-creature that had skidded next to a rock. As I would do with anyone lying unconscious on the ground, I picked him up and…shook him.

"Hey. Are you okay?" I grunted. I poked him once, and he started to come to.

"Can't…I can't…eat another bite…" he murmured. I made a face at his reaction; wasn't expecting that! I shook him a bit harder.

"Hey! Pull yourself together!"

The dog finally opened his dark colored eyes. One look at my monster face and he was off screaming at an impressively fast speed.

_That's not the warm "Thank You" I was looking for…_

"Don't eat me! I taste bad!" he moaned, cowering behind a rock.

"You okay? Nothing broken?"

Finally realizing I wasn't going to hurt him- at the moment- he was willing to come out.

"Oh! I'm just fine!"

He flew over to me, and called me Mr. Monster Guy.

"Mister…Monster Guy?"

_Was this…transformation really that hideous?_

"Looks like things have gotten pretty ugly!" By "things", I meant me.

Yeah! Look at those teeth, and those claws!" He was fluttering around me, looking me over and pointing out a few of the "features" my new look came with. It was so odd…how did this happen?

"What's your name anyway?"

"I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!" I replied, even though my usual thumbs up, cocky smirk, and original trademark greeting didn't quite fit at the moment. "And you are?"

"Hm…what IS my name?" the poor floating creature started to panic and run around in circles. "AHHH! I don't know! I can't remember!"

"What! You forgot who you are?"

_Apparently so._

"Yup. I remember something falling from the sky…and then everything just going all white!" he explained in an animated fashion. "…and then nothing! I can't remember a thing past that!"

I felt guilt slowly build up in my gut. "Uh oh… did I fall on him?" I whispered to myself.

"Oh man! What am I gonna do? What CAN I do? Where do I go from here? What'll I…oh. I'm hungry."

His flying rant ended as he landed in the palm of my gloveless hand.

"Hey don't worry. I'll help ya get your memory back." I assured. It was hard to explain- I, somehow, felt compelled to help the little guy out.

_Of course, I would've helped anyone else out in that situation, but this particular moment seemed to stand out from the rest. _

"Really you mean it?"

"Absolutely. I'm sure we'll find somebody who knows who you are if we look around."

The amnesiac animal landed on my head, with a smile that even a Werehog couldn't frown to.

"Oh thank you! You're the best Mr. Monster Guy- I mean, Sonic, the Hedgehog!"

There was no way I couldn't give a grin to that statement. We high fived, then lightly laughed. I was starting to like him already.

_You'll never know how great it felt to realize that __some__ part of me had stayed the same. I still had that "I'll Help You" attitude, and up for a good laugh. My form may have changed, but my personality was still intact. But…at the same time…without my speed, could I be truly happy? _

Even though I felt generally cheery after making my new friend, there was still the fact I wasn't exactly myself. I turned away from my friend for a moment, still trying to take it all in, when I noticed the sun was rising. My eyes slightly burned from the sudden light. It was so beautiful; the dawn's early light pouring onto the ocean. As I stared, I felt a rush go through my body; an odd, yet familiar tingle. A feeling like a light bulb being turned on and brightening a room. Automatically, I smiled, enjoying the sensation. Suddenly, it was like all the darkness and badness was expelled out of me in a purple ball, only leaving behind the old Sonic we all loved and knew.

_I could've collapsed with happiness- the horrible curse was gone, I had_ _thought__, and I was back to normal! I was free._

"Whoa…" my new friend gaped.

"Huh? Wha-" was all I could say; I was so speechless! The only thing I could do was look myself up and down, making sure there was no sign of any fur or claws. Lo and behold, I was back to normal, just like that. The amnesiac, however, was so awestruck by the transformation that he didn't notice anything I was doing.

"That was amazing!"

_If there was one emotion that stood out from all the rest at this moment, it'd be relief._


	3. Enjoyment

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Huh? You're blue and spiky! You're all different Sonic!" my pal exclaimed on our way to the nearest town, which seemed to be a long way.

"Yeah, and I prefer to _stay_ this way," I replied, almost too enthusiastic.

"Sometimes you're scary, and sometimes you're spiky! How cool is that?"

I folded my arms and looked at the ground, not wanting to hurt the little guy's feeling with the truth. "It's awesome…"

__

More like the worst thing to ever happen.

He seemed to buy it and shrugged. "All right then, let's go! This is gonna be fun! Adventure, here was come!"

I nodded. I might as well enjoy my speed- and myself- while I had it.

"Here we…"

I prepared myself, and then shot off like a rocket.

"GO!"

In truth, it was a great day for an early morning run. The sky was a gradient of orange to blue, dawn slowly making its way by. Along with relishing the view, I was enjoying my speed returned to me, for sure. Going through sets of rings that were lying in my path helped to increase my speed as well!

__

It was such a healthy run that I figured I could put the thoughts of what I had turned into behind me- that was all over, and now I had to help this guy find out who he was and find Eggman as well…

I drifted around a sharp turn around a cliff and blasted onto a Boost Pad, glancing up and seeing tall windmills in the distance. Put that together with the dawn sky and you had yourself a scene worthy of a postcard. There were a few places where I had to jump, but they weren't a problem. I thought I'd never love curling into a ball as I suddenly do now! The pure speed of it all…it had only been a few hours since I last ran, but…I was enjoying it like I hadn't run in years and I wasn't going to for another decade! It was that enjoyable! I drifted around turned, dirt flying as I did. I came to another bend, skidding by a wall then rocketing off thanks to a boost pad.

"Whoo hoo!" I yelped. My companion giggled next to me. "Piece of cake!"

The worn green grass dirt path started to slowly fall behind me, and a small building area based off the city was coming up fast. I loved every moment. Unfortunately, the entry way was out, but they had put a spring right before you fell to save your fall. Heh, it worked for me! Taking one large leap off the pad, I found a few robots lying in my path.

"Aw great! We've just begun, and there's already evil!" I grumbled to myself. Nevertheless, I curled up in mid-jump, shot forward, and took out two bots in one hit. I uncurled and landed, still running. I could actually feel myself going faster, arms flying out behind me and the dog somehow managing to stay a good distance near me. It would only take a few more minutes for the world's fastest thing alive.

However, no matter how fast I was probably going, a line of enemies and debris were still in my path. My new companion suggested I do a Sonic Boost, as I almost forgot I was able to do that! A force I held in me, I let it loose, and I was on the verge of a Sonic Boom! The row of enemies and obstacles flew off to the sides as I tore through them, cackling all the way. I had turned back to chortle for a brief moment, and when I turned forward again, a small structure was in my way, leaving only a small crack from it and the ground. With my quick instincts, I instantly slid under, and jumped back up before I smashed face first into the wall.

"Wow! You're amazing Sonic! I've never seen someone perform so…expertly as you!"

I just gave a cocky grin.

The main square was a few miles ahead, according to a sign I bypassed. I shrugged it off, knowing it was no problem for me. I could see the city's main area on an island, at the other side of the lengthy bridge. I snagged more rings, spying some more coming up on my left. The flying animal shouted to do a Quick Step, which was just me doing a speedy cartwheel so fast, you couldn't even tell I took a brief break from running!

__

Wish I could do that as you-know-what.

Taking his advice once again, I darted to the left, claimed those rings, and found a robot in my path. Just before it was too late I jerked to the right, unharmed. I dove to the right, then the left again to avoid even more.

"Like I said, no problem!" I stated, trying to fill the odd silence.

The dog discounted it and pointed to yet another sign. Apotos' Windmill Isle: One More Mile.

Hey, I was cool with that. Just meant more running for me! I saw Windmills in the distance, filling me with more determination.

"We're almost there!"

"Well, it IS only a mile away…" I replied.

"Just saying. It makes it blow-by faster!"

I zipped through rows of coins, letting me go faster, as my friend had pointed out. I grinned at that while drifting around a small corner and shooting over a boost pad. The same thing repeated on another corner, and I took on more coins. The intense speed I was going…I haven't ran like this in years! I was so busy having fun dashing on the pads that I was caught off guard when one launched me into the air, above a cliff. At first, I thought I was going to fall, but I was saved by a red ring, and a 10-ring piece.

While still in mid-air, I preformed a Sonic Boost, sending me rocketing across the sky. I broke out into a small fit of laughter, landing back down on the ground shortly and drifting around another corner.

__

It was pure euphoria, that's all I can say.

Jumping onto a spring, I was bounced up to a dark green boardwalk, looking out over that ocean at sunrise. The view was even better from this position! I smiled as I continued to run- sometimes the best thing about being able to roam wherever you wanted was all the scenery! I targeted another android with a homing attack then ventured around. Oh, if I had the time I would have sat and watched. Snapping back to reality at wrong time, I nearly lost my footing and an unwanted turn. I saved myself in time, and focused on the road ahead of me.

"Where did all these robots come from anyway?"

"Most likely Eggman…" I mused in response. They really were taking over the city! I homed in on one, then another, and soon I was performing an Action Chain, which made you-know-who flip out at the awesomeness. I grabbed him before he got out of control, and we sped through a narrow tunnel. I could feel him thumping against the wall. After taking out several more robots, the road ahead was pretty straight forward.

__

Yeah, if straight forward means insane turns and an overload of drifting! I got dirt in my eyes! So very painful…but at least after that I was flung into the town through a red ring!

"We're here!" I called, landing on the ground.

"Wow! It's so…bright here!"

I laughed at his innocent response while ducking under another slab of cement. But since I didn't lose my momentum, I had only a brief time to avoid the wall I was about to crash into. I jerked myself right, my quills brushing against the side. That was a close shave! I took a higher path on the road, flew through some rings, and dashed through the city's entrance. When we actually and officially entered, I could see why he had said it was so bright…because it was!

__

The sun was definitely shining here…it was nice to be basking in the sun's rays here, though. Not too bad of a place either.

"You weren't kidding…" I exclaimed while squinting. The pooch hovered in front of me with a pair of shades on looking smug.

"Hey! If I can't have any, then YOU can't either!" he made a face, yet removed the glasses.

"Sonic? What's sticking out of your spikes?" he then asked, trying to get my attention on something else. I had found the Chaos Emeralds around where I had landed, and stuffed them into my quills. I took them out.

"The Chaos Emeralds. I picked them up because even if they are out of power, I can't let them fall into the wrong hands."

__

That was an hour ago.

Now that I had to walk, I juggled two with one hand because I was craving the speed. Not that it quenched my thirst for running again, but it kept me entertained. My floaty friend was also intrigued by it and was quiet on the way to the town.

"What do you figure THAT was all about?" I asked him, speaking my mind. "The hair…and those arms! And…look at the Chaos Emeralds!"

He was briefly distracted by the fact I was staring at them, juggling them one-handedly, and walking at the same time, but then totally changed the subject by laying in the air and asking a random question.

"So…is this was you usually look like?"

"Yeah." I stopped walking and caught the second Chaos Emerald in my hand. "This is the REAL me."

__

You'd better believe it!

"Pretty cool huh?" I boasted, striking a cocky pose. I waited for his answer, only to find my friend was gone. "Huh? Where'd you go?"

Where was he? Swooning over ice cream. The man making the ice cream noticed him.

"Looks good, don't it?" he asked as he decorated his current treat with a plethora of toppings. His customer eagerly nodded. "That there Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supreme is the pride of the city! The whole world can come crumbling down, and they'll still be lining up for a taste!"

I shook my head, not believing he ditched me for ice cream! Or the fact the man claimed his ice cream was THAT good. I stood on one leg and rapidly waved my arms.

"Hey! What about your memories?" he ignored my calling and repeated the ice cream's name in a dreamy way.

"If you don't love it, you get your money back!" the man had promised.

"HEY!" I boomed again. Being neglected was not fun.

"Oh…I LOVVVVVVVE IT!"

Sure, I liked relaxing and chilling as much as the next guy, but maybe not so much if my, you know, memories were gone? Still, I bought us both a cone- so expensive!- and we strolled through the city, licking and looking for someone who knew him.

"Mmmm-hmmm! This chip-whatever stuff is great!" he sighed.

"If you say so. I'll take your word for it…" I answered. Hey, I was taking his word for it, since there was no way I'd finish it. So I took this as an opportunity to get back on track. "How about you give me a hand and help me for somebody who knows you Chip."

I kept walking and looking, but he froze. "Chip?"

"Gotta call ya something, don't I? Whaddya think?"

"Yeah! Chip…Chip! I love it! Yum!"

I laughed. Glad he liked it. "Now what do you say we start walking and find anybody who knows you?"

"Okay!" Chip cheerfully replied.

On a flower coated street, appropriately named "Flower Street", we talked to a boy in a red and white striped shirt, named Alexis.

"Oh, hello! Say, did you feel the tremor? Good thing my house is okay! Since the earthquake, the whole town has turned upside down."

"If you don't mind me asking…" Chip spoke up in a shy tone. "But would you happen to know anything about me?"

Alexis took a good, long look at Chip but came up short and shrugged. "Only that I've never seen you before. Sorry, all I know is that I don't know you. I can't help you…but I bet the priest can! He knows everything! Though he has been preoccupied lately…something's been on his mind. Maybe you can help him out too."

"If we run into him, we'll be sure to ask," I replied, already walking away. "C'mon Chip, that was only one person- if we see the priest guy he may have some knowledge about you!"

Chip nodded. "Yeah! And who knows- someone else may know something about me too!"

__

Good to see enthusiasm.

We headed into Bell Square, where two men, one a sailor and the other an old man, were walking around. I suggested we try and talk to those guys, which Chip was quick to agree with.

"Never seen you around here before. Are you a traveler?" questioned the burly sailor. I shrugged.

"Eh, I s'pose you could say that. Anyway, would you happen to know who this is?" I asked, gesturing to Chip. "He's lost his memory and we're looking for someone who knows him."

The sailor looked thoughtful, Chip looking hopeful. "Do I know he little guy? …nah, can't say I do. Don't think we've met before."

"Me neither," admitted the old man, whose name was Eric.

Chip frowned and sighed. "Oh, okay then. Thanks anyway…"

__

This wasn't looking promising…

We checked every last place, and no one knew Chip. It was exhausting, even for me.

"Not one of these people knows who he is?" I yelled out of frustration. No one heard me, luckily, but poor Chip was still without a lead on his memories. We did, however, run into the priest. He was tall man, garbed in a long black robe with a match hat, also sporting a long white beard and holding a brown book. He adjusted the glasses on his face as he acknowledges us.

"Hello good pilgrims. What brings you here?"

"Do you know who I am?" Chip asked, almost a bit too desperate. The priest, called Gregorios, frowned in thought and placed a hand to his chin.

"Scholar that I am, I must admit I do not."

Chip literally sunk with disappointment. Just as I was about to tell Chip that we should keep going, Gregorios continued to muse over his own thoughts.

"My thoughts are filled with the shrine…"

I raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "Shrine?"

Gregorios nodded. "It is a sacred place, famous among travelers. Since the great tremor, all manner of strange things have occurred. We have fewer tourist, and I'm afraid our town may come to ruin…You have come all this way. May I direct you to our holy shrine?"

"Sure, which way?"

"The shrine is on the edge of town. You cannot go deep inside, but…enjoy."

He pointed us in the right direct, which I thanked him for then urged Chip to get going, noticing that he was fumbling with something he found on the ground. I didn't think much of it- I wanted to get to this shrine as fast as possible…I had a feeling it played a big part with whatever was going on.

Right as we made it to the entrance, and I was marveling at it in awe, Chip suddenly tapped my shoulder.

"There's something I forgot to tell you…" Chip admitted, fidgeting with whatever thing he had found behind his back. "I came across this when I was walking so I picked it up. It looks like some kind of metal with a blazing sun on it. I really like it myself, but it might be of use…so I want you to have it!"

He handed me the continent's Sun Tablet. Not a clue what it was for, I thanked Chip and entered the shrine. I stopped in the doorway to gawk though- it was so huge, I made an echo with every step!

"This place is kinda spooky, huh Sonic? If it was just me, I'd be too scared to go in!" Chip chattered.

"Nothing to worry about with me around though!" I winked, tapping the wall and making more noise. Chip fluttered in fear, me chuckling lightly at him.

__

What was there to fear in such a bright room, though? I thought it was nice…and pretty warm too.

I walked under the bell, going up a ramp that lead to two doors. The door with the sun on it was glowing, so I went toward it. Chip suddenly flew over, his necklace glowing as bright as the door. As if the two were made for each other, the door whooshed opened, and we entered, ready for whatever was about to be thrown at us.


	4. Day and Night

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. We were sent to investigate strange happenings, but this part of Apotos seemed just as bright and beautiful as the rest of the island. But who was I to judge- anything could pop out from anywhere are any time. I stayed somewhat on the alert- but the tranquility of the city and perfect breeze was too much to neglect to enjoy.

"Have I ever said how cool it is here?" I asked Chip, drifting around a corner and blasting over a Boost Pad. "I just can't get over it!"

"According to the villagers, it IS a high tourist attraction," Chip recalled. "Apparently a lot of people think it's great!"

I couldn't argue with that- the people were nice, the scenery was great…I could rant about it. Speaking of scenery, I had just rocketed through a tunnel , and upon exiting out the other side, there was another gang of robots.

"This HAS to be Eggman's doing…" I groaned, slamming spikes first into the nearest target.

I continued to cruise through the area, taking in my sights. The color scheme appeared to be marble white and cobalt blue, my favorite color. The area around the city was actually fair grassy hills with windmills. No wonder they called it the Windmill Isle.

Tearing right through the town- I loved every moment of it. Weaving through buildings, jetting down stone-paved roads, and stomping over Boost Pads were only a few of the things I experienced. Eventually, I ran onto a scenic bridge, surrounded by a few smaller islands. It oddly led to the top of some buildings, but I didn't care- made it more fun! The moment I ran over the boost pad, I found myself loop-de-looping! It was so sweet! I needed to build up enough momentum to get over it, and I ended up rolling through it! Way past awesome! It shot me into the air, causing me to uncurl…and landing on a rail.

_After running and flying, grinding is my favorite thing to do. I mean, come on, I bet you all want to do that without a skateboard too- and I could. Now…well, I think the spikes on my shoes might make me stop and end up falling…but the rush of a rail was only two stars short of flying and running_.

It was over the plains of Apotos, a windmill blowing peacefully off to the side. Even if it was a brief grind, I still got a kick out of it. It brought me to another road, where I had to duck once again, sloped down twice, and shoot up the side of a wall. I made contact with a spring, and bounded into the air. After Action Channing a few robots, my feet met up with another rail, this one way more fun than the first. It was as if I was my own rollercoaster with the spin it took! A little ways up ahead was probably my favorite part of the run: the Windmill Ramp. It was a blue spiral that coiled around a windmill, and I booked it on that thing. They didn't call me the Blue blur for nothing, because that was all you could see!

It sent me zipping into the air, freezing for a brief moment. Then, 3 seconds later, I did a trick and took off once more. I ended up on top of double loops, though I kinda wanted to go on them myself. I managed to get some enjoyment from corkscrewing through four rings and a 10-piece though. This took me around a bend and onto this long and awesome rail! I zipped down that thing, grinning like mad, flying past the rocks in the water. This incredibly long rail took me over the water to reach another part of the city, but it was pretty cool! I was going to flip onto a different rail to stop losing speed, but my rail suddenly turned into a corkscrew!

"Yeah! Now THIS is epic!"

I Sonic Boosted onto a narrow bridge-nicely made, by the way, and I found myself grinding again. This set was under a bridge held up by stone arches.

"Wow...they sure put some effort into this city!" Chip gaped as I landed back on solid ground.

_Now that I think about it, grinding is sort of like running on air! Without actually running, though..._

I spun into a couple more enemies, then through some rings. This part of the route was an archway tunnel that had windows you could look out to see the ocean and all the sailboats on the water. So what if an earthquake shook up the town- this place should've been crammed with tourists! The water was beautiful-and for me, that's saying something! The sun was bright, everything man-made was practically crafted by heaven...it was a pretty cool place.

"I like this little area..." I smiled to myself, looking over the edge as I flew by.

"Me too!"

"So…what's next?" I wondered, skidding around a tight bend.

_I'll tell ya- it was like running around the outside of a castle with those huge walls! Man! The Windmills were peaking over the top, and the walls cast a shadow on the road. Cool, yet slightly unsettling at the same time._

Air travel was totally the way to go! Through the rainbow ring, I soared over a gang of robots, not one I had to fight! I laughed in triumph while sneaking a glance at all the windmills I was passing. Once again, suddenly running into the air had me unprepared. Just as I noticed what was going on, I spin dashed at a hovering robot, then another, and then through another rainbow ring. I stylishly went through that, and I was running on asphalt again. I drifted just before having my nose smash against a wall (AGAIN), and gave myself a boost to make up for lost time.

"Dang! This place should be an amusement park!" I exclaimed after going up then suddenly flying down and onto a castle-like structure. I shot past that, only to hear something robotic and mad... following me?

_Well, that was certainly interesting, to say in the least._

"Ggg-gah! S-Sonic! Something HUGE is chasing us!" Chip wailed.

"I know!" I called back, trying to outrun it. But no, next thing I knew, two sets of razor blades were at my sides! I cringed, knowing if I were over there I'd be cut. It reeled back, and then came forth once again.

"Ha! If it keeps using that same attack, it can't touch me!" I smirked to myself as I ran across a ramp. This time, I was behind the robot. It was still a bit ahead of me, even though I was going at an excelling speed. I Sonic Boosted forward, striking the robot from behind. I repeated the process, hurting it more and more with each blow. This opportunity didn't last long, because it didn't want to be beaten anymore and returned behind me to attack me some more. Joy. My words came to bite me in the butt as both sets of razors tore down the middle of the road. I could feel the whooshing it made and the soft whirl sound as I quickly stepped to my right.

_Another good thing about being insanely fast- being able to make split-second movements!_

I had another chance to attack! Now having a battle strategy, I shot like a bullet once again. I made hard contact with the green metal. It returned to attack briefly, but his time was cut short by another ramp.

"Catch ya later!" I mocked, plowing into the machine for the last time. It twirled to look at me, pounding at his sides like a gorilla. Then, he just…fell onto the bridge. It exploded as soon as I ran up to it, no longer a threat. I took off one last ramp. It led me to what seemed like a castle- it looked so fancy, in my opinion. Once landed, I took a moment for a breather. While panting on the ground, I smirked to myself, getting that cocky feeling rush through me.

"Man, I'm good!" I managed to stand up and strike a pose. Chip floated to my side and rolled his eyes, making me grin even bigger. However, as Chip began to celebrate my small victory, I noticed something glittering on the ground. When I picked it up, I realized it was just like the tablet Chip had located to get us deeper in the temple, with a red jewel and everything…except this one was only half of a tablet.

_It made me wonder where the other half was…if there really was one._

. . .

By the time Chip and I had reached another section of city, it was dusk. Randomly, I felt something tugging inside of me, begging and clawing to get out. It...hurt?

The feeling felt like it was pounding, fighting to get out. I felt like twitching, but I had to stay composed around Chip.

"Hmm…" he sighed, walking along the road next to me. "Still no luck in finding anyone who knows me."

I tried to reassure him, though I needed some reassuring myself. "Don't worry about it. Maybe your memory will come back on its own." I walked in front of him and stared him in the eyes. "Remember anything yet?"

Chip thought hard for a few moments, then sighed and shook his head. "Mmmm…nope!"

"Oh well…" I lightly frowned, hands on my hips and staring disappointedly at the sky.

_I still feel guilty…I think it was my fault I landed on the little guy in the first place, and now we can't seem to get a lead on who he really is…_

Things suddenly started to get creepy. The sky slowly morphed from a blazing purple to a shadow black. The windmills stopped blowing, the streetlights were flickering, and my gut feeling wasn't helping me out any. If was as if claws were scraping on a chalkboard, and the stomach was that chalkboard. Then, I suddenly couldn't take it. I buckled over, hands frozen and eyes tight in pain.

"Sonic?" Chip wondered, already worrying. I didn't want him to worry; that's what I was trying to prevent. But…even my massive will power and determination was failing at this point. I started grunting, groaning and moaning, a purple flaming aura emanating from my chest. It was coming…whether I liked it or not!

_What the heck was going ON?_

Pound, pound, pound….my groans turned to fierce snarls and the flame aura was getting bigger. I was now in a squatting position, trying to force the… force to stop.

_The next few seconds were extremely painful. _

I bent backward as the purple light surged into me. It was the exact opposite feeling I had when the Were-hog's presence was leaving me…it wasn't pleasant, freeing, and up-lifting- it was horrid, imprisoning, and dreary. Instead of the badness leaving, it was flooding back in. By the time the unbearable metamorphosis was over, and I could open my eyes, I felt sick. I was the Werehog again.

_Just as painful as the first time, only less dramatic. My freedom was lost once again, and I was stuck in a cage meant for a wolf._

"_But why? Why did it return?" _I screamed in my head. _"I thought it was only temporary! I thought it was gone…"_

"Whoaaaaa….Mister Monster Guy is back!" Chip innocently stated, oblivious to my mental panic.

Ignoring the return of the nickname that upset me, I gaped at my night form as I finally figured out what had managed to trigger the transformation again. "So when the sun goes down…I turn into…this?"

"Are you okay Sonic?" Child had finally noticed my bewildered expression,

_I was far from okay after that._

"I'm fine…" I grunted. "I just need to be careful who sees me like this."

_That would be… everyone!_

Chip suddenly floated away from me, seeming not to notice me looking myself over several times, once again occupied by something else going on behind me.

"Sonic! Sonic, look!" he pointed out.

"What is it?"

The ice cream man. Naturally. But this time, he was sobbing at his stand, rather than his cheerful, positive self like he was this morning.

_Sounds like me._

"It's hopeless! The whole planet had split apart! We're doomed!" he blubbered.

"Mister? Hey Mister? Hey, don't cry!" Chip asked, fluttering over to him in a concerned manner. I just stayed away, watching curiously. "Uh…ice cream! How about some of this super-tasty stuff?"

"What good is ice cream at a time like this?"

The sudden negative outburst caused Chip to double-over backward in shock, ice cream in hand. Problem was, the ice cream was the same size as his body. It flew out of its container and dove for the ground.

"Noooooo….ice cream!" moaned Chip in slow motion.

"Whoops!" I gasped, somehow reaching my arm out to catch the frozen treat from the small distance away.

_I see how it is! My speed goes to my arms? That's…no. Why me? Why that?_

"S-Sonic! Your arm just stretched!" gaped Chip.

"Weird…" I stretched my arm again to place the treat back into its containment. "…but it could be useful!"

_Not what I'd like to have, but at least I could take advantage of it…_

The ice cream man kept crying away, Chip giving a look as if asking me what we should do. I just gave a sideways shrug- I wasn't sure what was up with him. Besides, I now had the return of my own problems…

_I still can't believe this._


	5. Two Dogs During Dark

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Hey, get this! The ice cream man has been acting really weird! Whoa, speaking of weird, what the heck happened to _you? _What did you do to yourself?"

"Hey, pilgrim! What's the matter? You all right? You look…shorter and stouter than before! Didja eat something funny?"

_Definitely great ways to boost my self-esteem at the moment._

I had been getting comments like that ALL night- plus horrified looks of people who thought I was going to eat them. It made me feel even worse about the whole situation, but without a clue on what to do next, I had to ask around. Chip and I finally trudged our way to the priest, who was in the same area as this morning, hoping he could give us some kind of lead again.

"Hm? I don't believe we've met. What are you doing out this late?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked up from his book. My mouth literally dropped with those words- now this guy didn't even recognize me? Did I really look that different?

"We met this afternoon, remember?" I asked wearily.

He placed a hand to his chin in thought. "I think I'd remember a blue hedgehog!"

"You…you directed me to shrine!"

_I shouldn't have even been having that conversation!_

Gregorios gave me a disapproving look, then sighed. "I was just talking about how many unusual guests we get. Eric said he even gave directions today to a yellow fox. After Apotos' tremor, tourism's declined and nights are dangerous. Reports of ghosts have not been verified, but you be careful, son!"

I had barely caught on about there being ghosts roaming around- my mind was stuck on "yellow fox", and only one name popped into my mind.

_Tails. _

Well, the priest wasn't much help this time around, but the tidbit about what could possibly be Tails in Apotos has definitely intrigued me. I asked where Eric was, as I recalled he was the old man with the sailor earlier today, and he pointed me toward the Café. I thanked him several times then ran off, Chip flying right behind me. When we reached the Café Terrance, sure enough, there was Eric hanging around.

"Hm? You fellas? You two made a big impression. I'd know you anyway!" he exclaimed as soon as he saw us. I grinned- at least he remembered us from earlier, but _only_ from earlier…which mean that he didn't truly know who Chip was.

"What do you mean?" Chip asked, who couldn't make as much sense of the situation as I did.

"Well, I had some stranger ask me a favor. And since he was a yellow fox, I figured you knew each other."

"We do, we do!" I answered, starting to get excited. He reached into his back pocket and started to fumble with something.

"He told me if I saw a blue hedgehog, I ought to give him this. His description was a bit different, but I'm sure you're the one he meant."

_Of course it was different. Tails wasn't exactly informed of my nightly transformation yet…_

Eric gave me a Moon Tablet, which was just like the Sun Tablet, only silver in color and with a blue moon gem in the center. Knowing that it had once been in Tails' possession, I gripped it even tighter. It would be great to hear from Tails- it had been a while- but I didn't want him to see me in my Werehog form…I barely wanted _anyone_ to see me! But things just wouldn't get done if I wasted nights doing nothing. I motioned for Chip and we climbed back up to the Sacred Shrine. Nothing had changed, especially since it was still light! This caused the darkness in my body to expel, the freedom feeling to happen, and for me transform back to normal.

"Huh? Hey, you're back to nice-guy Sonic again!" Chip chirped.

_What does that mean? My new title is Mr. _Mean_-Monster Guy?_

"This light's so warm; it feels like the afternoon sun! Do you think your transformation's got to do something with the sun Sonic? I dunno! "

In that case, I wanted to just sit and relax, and not head back into any darkness, but the glowing Moon Door was urging me to come. Somewhere, very faint inside, I could feel whatever it was that had transformed me (or what /I had changed into) forcing me to go. If there's one thing I can't say no to, it's myself. No matter how hard I tried to keep my feet planted to the floor, I was still being pushed onward. Chip didn't notice anything strange when I told him to open the door, and we entered, in for a big surprise.

_I really didn't want to go…I don't know if I felt naturally obligated to, or unnaturally forced to._

I could tell it wasn't a very good idea because the very moment I entered that door, I had the Werehog experience all over again, only in fast forward mode. That was even worse. I must've freaked Chip out with my surprised pained scream, because he kept chattering.

"Uwagh! You're looking all scary again! Don't you get tired of switching?" he asked.

_Yes, Chip. Yes I do. _

_. . ._

We had just entered the other side of the city, but it was so different than the day. I didn't like it. I lost the adrenaline feeling I usually had. Just as I took my first few steps, I officially declared I was dirt slow, with none of my trademark speed to my name.

_Which definitely depressed me some. Running was like my escape from it all…_

There were a row of spike balls in my way.

"I'll never know how or why those are there…"

I jumped over it, but when I went to try a Spin Dash, thinking I could still do one, I just did another jump.

"Yeah, THAT'S great!" I gritted, a roar growing in my throat. I couldn't even do a Spin Dash when I lacked my speed! At the pace I was going, I was going to be dead! Out of anger, I rushed forward, running on all four of my limbs. I looked sadly out over the ocean, where the moon was large and full. Even the water and the sky were outlined with an evil purple haze, like my personality. And yet…it was eerily beautiful all the same.

_I've officially gone off the deep end, just so you know._

I sighed, and passed more spikes around a corner. If I had to go through with this, I might as well try and make the most of it. Still dashing, I leapt across a large gap in the road and kept on going. The path had led to more of the city. I wasn't highly thrilled about it, unlike in the daytime, where I couldn't get enough of the place. I had my mind set on just running around the corners and such, but as soon as I did, I finally understood that I wasn't Sonic the Hedgehog…I was Sonic the Werehog.

_At this rate I shouldn't even be named Sonic._

There was buildings, and those buildings were in my way. There was a blue bar, meant for me to grab. I shrugged, jumped, threw out my arm, and pulled myself across. Whee. Oh no, it didn't happen like that. It went a little more like this:

I dash forward, not really all that sure of how to use my arms, so I fell. I climbed up the small stairs, ready to try again. I took off the edge once more, and just as I stretched my arm out, it was too late.

"Stupid slow arms! You might be my fastest body part, but you're not as fast as I want you to be!"

"C'mon Sonic! You'll get the hang of it!" Chip assured.

_Great. Now I have someone telling _me _to look on the bright side -at night._

The ledge was my prey, I the predator. It was my goal. I leapt, arm outstretched and ready to stretch some more. My claws brushed against the blue, and I rammed face first into the side. I groaned while peeling myself off and staggering to the ground.

_Obviously I'm not used to using my arms so much…maybe stretchy legs would be better?_

Several attempts later, I was flailing about, hoping my claws would snag on something. They didn't.

"All right! Playtime's over!" I roared, knowing my time was growing slim. I took one last hopeful jump, arms stretched to their fullest capacity. I felt my bare grey palm hit something, and I gripped it with lightning reflexes. I glanced up, saw I was dangling, roared out in happiness, and pulled myself up. I gave a brief second to hug the ground, and then bolted off. I barely went two feet before realizing I'd have to swing again. This time, I knew what to do.

"Yeah!" I cheered, actually swinging over the spiky trap. Just as I thought things were over, I found my worst enemy.

_The __pole__._

I constantly threw myself at it, but my arms wouldn't get a grip!

"All right pole! Prepare to meet your master!" I shouted. I jumped, and then grasped the pole, managing to get a hold. "Now to jump onto that building…"

_Too bad I was a complete idiot, failing to see that I had to turn my back __to__ the place I had to jump. Because if you don't the pole's gonna get in your way…_

I had my eyes locked on that roof. I was so anxious to get out of this nightmare I thrust forward full force…and got blocked by that pole. In pain, I slid back off, and landed back first on the ground.

"Oooh…"

I restarted once again, now more than ready to take on the pole. I climbed it, once again failed to change my direction, and jumped, this time going in the opposite direction of my destination. I toppled off the side of the wall, grabbing the wall before I fell.

"Well this officially sucks," I pouted, fighting to get back up. I was a lot heavier than I used to be.

_Now you're getting it!_

I took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind and get myself focused. "Okay…"

I climbed the pole, this time taking my back to the building and jumped. To my amazement, I did it!

"Ha ha! I have dominated the pole! Rawr…"

Chip gawked at me. I sweat dropped and dashed off.

"Must be too much full moon…" Chip mumbled, not following too far behind. It was less strain on his wings to follow me now than a hedgehog.

Just beyond the building-and that accursed pole- I had my first fight. Chip figured I could probably use my stretchy arms to take down the enemies, especially with my nasty claws… I rolled my eyes, even though he was probably right.

_Still, I prefer Spin Dashes. Way more fun._

Before I had a chance to prepare for anything, monsters more gruesome than me morphed from out the cement road. Heck, those things moved faster than I could! Making a face at this fact, my instincts kicked in, and I found myself clawing and scraping at the enemies. As soon as I beat one in front of me, there was one trying to sneak up on me! I had to keep punching, arms whirling like a pinwheel. They just never seemed to end!

_Would have been easier with a Spin Dash huh?_

When they FINALLY stopped appearing, I had to rest my arms. Dang, I've never used them so much before! They're usually flying behind me! Using the last of their energy to shrug, I carried on. I took out another few monsters with some crates; defeated some more, and…I wanted to collapse with sleep. Not because it was nighttime, but from that fact that I wasn't enjoying this anymore…

_It was like some dark energy was taking over me, making me feel more negative. Yet in the light…I've never felt so free…_

Chip fluttered over to me, nudging me back to consciousness.

"C'mon Sonic! We can get through this! Just keep trudging on!"

_He reminded me so much of Tails, when he was younger. _

I stared at him, dark eyes piercing into his. "I don't think I can…can't we wait until morning? My arms are killing me!"

"But we're nowhere near where we need to be! We have to at least make it back to the city!" urged Chip. I was ready to crash on my face.

"No! If I keep going, I'm going to mess up somewhere and die!"

_Heh, that just might be true…_

He then resorted to a very dangerous tactic that we both seemed to know would get me to continue.

"Sooooooo_nnnnnnniiiiiiiiiic__**ccc**_!"

"All right!" I shouted, a lot sharper than I had intended. "But never do that again!"

"Waugh!"

Chip flew off wailing, leaving me to dwell over this situation. Not only did I still have guilt about the guy losing his memories, but now I had just snapped at him over something nearly insignificant. I stared at my palms, uncovered by my usual while gloves and colored an unnatural blue-gray.

_What was wrong with me?_


	6. We Just Have to Deal With It

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

It was awfully quiet. I know it was night, but you could hear a pin drop! That just made this whole ordeal a lot scarier.

"Suddenly nighttime takes on a new personality…" I mumbled.

"Yeah.. I HATE the dark!" Chip cried.

"Hey! You remembered something!" I yelped, instantly breaking.

"Yeah! I did! But…that's not anything important, like who I really am…"

I shrugged. "We gotta start from somewhere don't we?"

Chip nodded. "…and we can start saving the world by taking out those randomly appearing bad guys right?"

"Say what?"

I turned around, only to see that annoying magenta force field shoot up and block all my means of escape. To add to the dilemma, three horned creatures (Which I will just call Rhinos) morphed out of the ground. I extended a clawed hand and slashed into one, then rapidly switching my hands.

"You're doing a combo Sonic!"

"Thanks for the update…"

"Just trying to help!"

They weren't very heavy on strength, so I dispatched them easily. They had barely scratched me, but managed to damage me all the same, so I grabbed the 10-ring coin up some stairs and continued on my way. But though the archway, was a pole.

_I was used to it now, but learning how to climb that thing was horrible! I'd usually bounce off the wall and onto the next platform-who climbs?_

Carefully, I used my prior knowledge to make it up on the next area.

"See Sonic? Nothing bad about the pole…"assured Chip. I grunted in response. "Uh…hey a door! Open it!"

My anger defused on the spot; I was too busy focusing my strength in lifting that door. Once I usefully did, however, I found that my new strength could actually rival Knuckles.

"Maybe I should really test it out…"

Eager to find something to throw, I scurried down a small slanted path. I found nothing to throw, but something to sink my claws into. The force fields went up, and I was ready to fight whatever creatures dared to attack me-

"I CAN'T HIT THEM!"

Chip was floating as far away from my battle with the weak flying creatures as he could get, but my arms couldn't react fast enough when they fluttered away from my pinpointed attacks.

"Just try jumping?"

_Did my clever brain go under a transformation too? ...no, just a blank moment..._

I suddenly felt stupid as I hopped to get a better aim. All three pests were taken down in one hit. Now grounded, I kept them down and viciously showed them no mercy. Chip gave me a cheeky grin, and I couldn't resist a -very- small smile while rolling my eyes.

. . .

"It's so eerie out here…all the house lights are on, but there's no sign of anyone at all!"

The silence was starting bug me too, especially since this current road we were walking down was very spacious, and any little sound made seemed to echo. There weren't even any robots to smash into! "I can hear my footsteps…"

We got quiet, and we really _did_ hear my footsteps. Spooked, Chip flew around yelping. I

couldn't help but hide a smile at his naïve fears. Then, the sound of a barrier materializing and blocking my path managed to scare me.

"Holy cow…" I huffed, hating being taken by surprise. I walked over to the barrier that appeared and punched it- it was just like the ones that appeared when any enemies showed up, except there were no enemies to defeat, and this one had an odd symbol on it. Three connected circles… "This has to mean something…but what? And how am I supposed to get by now?"

"I dunno, but I'm not liking this place at night!"

_Same here._

Chip hovered closer to a spinning orb of light out of fear, which I proceeded to reach out and touch. It instantly disappeared, and a circle on the barrier filled in. Chip noticed was had happened and his fear had instantly disappeared…for the moment.

"Huh, what was that Sonic? It looks like there's more of them around here, too…"

"I bet these light orb things are what break the seal on the door!"

Now knowing what I had to do, I scanned the area for two more light keys…as I'm going to call them. During my search, I stumbled into an enclosed area, where rhinos waited to ambush me.

"I hate these things…dang!"

Slashing them all to pieces, and nabbing a 10-ring to my left, I went to leave but was tripped by a snickering rhino.

"Oh great, _more!"_

I manage to perform a break dancing kick to trip it, then following up with a uppercut- thank you Knuckles! He taught me a very effective way on how to use it…since I experienced it beforehand.

"Bring it on creeps!"

They growled and advanced towards me. I scoffed and lashed out with an array of fists.

"Huh-huh-hi yah! YAH!"

_Since when did I yell with every blow? It's like Pow-YAH! Hit- HI YAH! Slam- YARGH!"_

Chip cheered me on while standing on a table, shouting out praise until I was done. Once his cheerleading act was finished, he hopped up and down and pointed frantically.

"Sonic! I see another light key!"

I turned to where he pointed-on top of a balcony. Effortlessly tossing a crate to use as a stool, I jumped up there and nabbed it.

"Do you think there's any more?" my companion asked me a few moments later.

"I'm thinking there's gotta be at least one…" I trailed. "There were three circles on the seal, and two of them filled up when we collected first two light keys-"

My thought was stopped by another force field trap. Three Pests, AKA squeaking flying things, appeared.

"Okay, these get old fast! Whatever happened to the days where I could just run by these things?"

Every time I fought something, I always seemed to find something to be angry about. Must've been the dark vibes they radiated out… When Chip placed his hand on my shoulder, I realized I was breathing heavily and irritated.

"This is going to become a problem…"

I sighed, grabbing some rings under the streetlight-lit street. "It's just the side-effect that comes with this body. We both need to live with it…because something tells me we'll be facing whatever issues I have for a long time…"

"But Sonic...you haven't changed- you're just frustrated!"

"Still a side-effect..."

Before Chip could respond to my sudden tone change and stubbornness, I reached up and grabbed a pole jetting out from a wall. _These _poles weren't so bad to master. I swung forward, let go, then quickly used my fast arm reflexes to grab the edge of the next part. Following the path, we ran into the barrier again- still one circle left to fill. While Chip curiously poked at it, I threw open another door and found the final light key. As soon as I collected it, the barrier's symbol lit up intensely, then disintegrated simultaneously. I grinned, thinking the barrier troubles were over, but as soon as I crossed the faint line, yet another one popped up. The area filled with enemies. I lost it.

"Grrrrrr-RARGH!"

I could feel the monsters regretting morphing out the ground while I pummeled them right back into it, along with several other indescribable methods…

"You can't make this any easier for me, can you?"

I swung one into a wall, hearing a sickening crack following shortly. I didn't care- let them suffer like I was! The pack of Rhinos whittled down to two, and I finished them off by crashing their heads together.

"Are you quite done?"

"Are they quite gone? Yeah!" I snorted, rage now spreading to innocent Chip.

_I'm beginning to regret that…it's starting to get to me…perhaps I _was_ just frustrated..._

I climbed up a pole that sat in a small building next to us, bringing me to the Goal Ring. I cried out in joy and jumped into it.

"Yeah! I rule! I made it out alive!" I exclaimed. I felt myself somehow learn a new Were-Claw move. "…and now I have another move I can hurt those things with!"

The latter of my statement was said a bit darkly, causing Chip to slowly lose what courage he had left.

"I'm glad you got a new move…now you can use it during the second part of our night-"

"What do you mean "second part"?"

"Can't you tell there's more?" Chip asked slowly and apprehensively.

I jumped up and peeked out the high window. On the other side was a backstreet with darkened Windmills, shadowed buildings, and it all led into an area surrounded by cliffs. I let go and let myself hit the ground.

"I don't remember daytime being this long…"

"C'mon Sonic! The faster we go through, the faster we're done!"

"Chip-"

"_Sooo_-"

"Don't even **think** about doing that again!"

"Sorry."

"Fine, but I'm going to take a long nap when we're done!"

"But you'd end up sleeping into the nice, warm day…"

I snorted at the nightmare of the truth in that, and started heading down the long street. I was so tired, I hadn't realized I crashed into a door…without a knob.

"Maybe there's a switch to open it!"

"Yay."

I swung my right arm to push myself away from the door, and ended up crashing into some pots that hid the switch.

"Found it."

I stood on it, activating the door.

"Let's get this over with-"

"Hooray!"

I sluggishly started to dash on all fours, occasionally one of my paws-wait, I HAVE those?- slipping out from under me, but I'd always catch myself. I literally fell when I was ambushed by more Rhinos. Chip flinched as if I was about to go on another riot, but I calmly, and sleepily, took them all down.

"Are you sure you can handle this?"

I waved it off. "I'll be okay…just gotta…tough it out…yawn."

I struggled to even walk, but I kept pressing onward. Chip was obviously worried, but didn't say anymore. I nodded firmly, then straightened up. I hadn't gotten far when even more enemies appeared in my path. I suddenly had to rub my eye while using the other hand to swat at the Bees. They seemed confused, but I scratched the look off their faces. No…_I_ only hit one in the head. _They_ stung me in the face. They were even harder to hit than the Pests! Quick, clever, out-witting…I envied them. One made the fatal mistake of buzzing my way as I reached out to attack. I killed that one, but other two were still using the run-then-attack, which I took care of by dashing and using Were-Claw. They staggered around dazed, like I was when I tried to walk. This made it so much easier to hit them that I almost laughed. Almost.

. . .

The path continued to wind into a mountain-or just a large rock mass- passing windmills galore. I was too busy staring and counting how many there were that I hadn't realized I just dash-jumped over a large gap until Chip pointed it out.

"Hey! I stuck it! Pretty good for a tired were-hog, huh?"

Chip nodded, and we entered a small cavern. Near the end of it, I fought another round of creatures- a combination of Rhinos and bees. I managed to beat them, but my performance was greatly slipping and I ended up with a few marks. Chip asked if I wanted to rest, but I still refused.

"I'm honestly fine Chip…yawn…I'm just not used to staying up _this_ late…"

Chip shrugged. "If you say so…"

I trudged onward, reentering town.

"For an isle, this place is pretty big huh?"

"I'll say…"

I kept this thought in mind while dashing up a flight of stairs. Flying through a 5-ring healed some of my stings and scrapes. My claws-and spikes on my shoes- scratched the pavement while I tried to get my balance back from the leap.

"Aw great! A dead end…" I moaned, grunting at the sight of the wall.

"Wait!" Chip floated over to a weird blue thing sticking out of the side of the building. "Can't you grab onto that and swing up?"

"Worth a shot."

I stretched my arms up and grabbed the square. I swayed to the right, then the left, and next thing I knew I was pin-wheeling around the peg. I let go at the right moment and flung myself upward, snagging onto another one. I repeated the process, this time going to my left.

"One more Sonic!" cheered Chip.

_At least he was being optimistic…_

One last swing upward, and I was next to Chip. I eyes another blue bar and groaned. Inching myself along the bar, I rounded a corner, dropped, threw my arms onto another bar, and pulled myself up. I then shot out my arm to grab another nearby pole and swung over. I nearly toppled over when I landed, Chip started to snicker. I grumbled to myself while tossing a door open. Inside was a 20-ring, and that fully replenished my health.

"Quit laughing Chip! We gotta go…" I told him, already climbing up more steps.

"You should have seen you face-"

"Stop mocking me! I, uh, needed to spruce things up a little…"

Turning the next corner, I recognized the place from this morning. It was the tunnel with the view I had enjoyed so much. When Chip and I had gotten our ice cream, we back came over here and sat on the wall to watch the boats and the sparkling water. Chip was licking that ice cream like mad and I was just trying to savor the flavor. Chip ended up getting a huge glob on his nose as a ship-horn honked, and we started cracking up just because.

_It was my favorite place in Apotos._

I was almost afraid to walk any closer; afraid to see what creatures were ready to fight in there. I stared at the water and I realized…night was just as beautiful here as it was in the day. Even if the sky was purple. Even if it had a dark aura. The moon was large and full, the water was a rainbow of violet, and stars faintly dotted the sky. I pulled my head out of the space and walked through the tunnel, on alert for any monsters.

"Anything that disturbs this place is going to get pounded…" I huffed under my breath. Chip shivered at my voice's dark tone. We manage to walk out unharmed, but just like the rock tunnel, Rhinos jumped out at the end. My fist clenched and socked one across the face, causing it to fall limp on the ground. I slashed with both hands twice at whatever I could hit, then jumped in the air and smashed them all at once. When the Rhino Brigade was taken care of, Pests emerged from the ground. They all threw themselves at me, and I felt one chomp on my ear.

"RRRROOOOAAAARRRRR!"

Chip later claimed he felt the air shake with that howl. I jerked my head back and attacked whichever one had bit me. It was the first to die. I randomly grabbed another one and used it as a bowling ball to the rest. It escaped my hand and started to dodge all the slashes I attacked with. Eventually I launched myself at it and crushed it against the wall with my weight.

"About time…"

_I hate those things! Always flying just as I lash out…_

I headed up another set of steps, collecting the much needed rings. They led to a…pole, which I climbed up. Climbing up to the top, I collected a 5-ring, and simultaneously grabbed the second pole. I was not falling off. Gently regaining my footing, I rushed across the narrow walkway and found a lever.

"Hey! A lever! This is so meant for me to pull…"

I directed all my strength to my hand, and with two tugs, it came my way and Chip went into the elevator it had activated. It started to go down…without me, so I jumped down with a howl and landed with a thud.

Next time, wait for me!"

"Sorry! I wanted to see what it would do…"

"it gave me a bruise is what it did!"

During my rant, I felt something slug me on the back, causing me to land at the feet of a Rhino.

"You guys don't give up do you…"

Five were ready to beat me to a pulp, but, then again, so was I. My left arm swung backward and hit the Rhino that slugged me, instantly knocking him out. I sweep-kicked the one I landed at, then thrust a fury of fists into him. Three left, two hands. Using the same trick that I used to kill the previous Pests with, I picked up the nearest Rhino and swung him into the other two several times. The force of impact was enough to K.O. all three. Just as I was about to walk away, I heard a buzzing noise and found that the barriers hadn't let up yet. Four bees hovered constantly, and my ears were ringing with the buzzing. I managed to grab one, then use its stinger to slay another. Since bees get weaker when they loose their stinger, I tossed the half-dead insect over the side of the balcony. The other two prepared to approach me, but with several well-places punches-or just a crate- they were taken care of.

"This way Sonic!" Chip called, floating past a ring to let me get it and pointing to a pole. I didn't need to slide down, but I did just to collect the rings. Sliding down another one, Chip rushed back to me and explained I would be scaling a cliff.

"Take it nice and slow…don't wanna slip and fall!"

"Don't wanna jinx it!"

I carefully placed my foot on the blue bar, then inched over slowly-and couldn't go fast even if I wanted to, with the combination of Chip's constant reminders and my fear of falling into some water… The next bar was over my head, so I leaned against the rock to stay balanced and stretched my hands upward. Worse than standing above water, I was_ dangling_ from it.

"Easy…Easy…Careful Sonic! Careful-WATCH THAT ROCK! Now just slide your paw over like-"

"For the love of rings, SHUT UP!"

"Just trying to make sure you don't-"

"DAAAAAAAAAaaaahhhh…"

Splash.

"…oops."

Now soaked, I managed to get myself back to the bottom of the second pole at least, which wasn't _too_ far away. I repeated the scaling process, this time without the constant yelping of Chip. Past where I fell off, I landed on a small plate form and started to scale once again.

"If this superhero thing doesn't work out, maybe I can be a mountain climber!"

Right before Chip could reply to my small comment I spotted the goal ring and jumped through in one leap.

"Wow, you sure do love Goal Rings…"

"They're a sign of safety…"

Once my "I reached the goal" celebration was over, Chip looked slightly worried.

"What…"

His shaky hand pushed open the door behind the goal ring to reveal even more of a path.

* * *

**Next time, we run into Tails! Yay!**

**P.S. For those who are wondering, this is based off the Wii Version, but has a few 360 elements/references in it too to make it seem...fuller. **


	7. The Last of Apotos

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"I can't go on like this! Everything I knew has been a lie! I'm going to go insane!"

I collapsed and bonked my head into the wall-for the sixth tie since Chip had told me the bad news.

"Honestly Sonic, it's only one more part! And halfway through your rampage I checked it out and it's not that long! Then you can take a well deserved nap…and we can eat too!"

I groaned and started "running" along the narrow path. "Fine…I don't have a choice. I feel like tomorrow's never going to come…"

It was a short run, because after I sped under a skinny archway, the path started to turn into a road. Dog statues lined the sides, leading me somewhere. It almost reminded me of an arena, though I don't know why… My closest guess was because a quartet of Rhinos was set out to do me in.

"C'mon Sonic! Use your rage from earlier to take them out!"

I made a face while ducking under a punch. "I won't respond to that…"

I whirled around toward the nearest Rhino and stared him in the eyes. The Rhino exploded-via Were-Hammer, and I bet the rest of my empty wallet that Chip was glad he had managed to scope out the place. The rage-page continued with my lightning fast claws slicing into the other three. More poured out of the ground, and I rapidly hacked and cut. When the last one dissolved into black dust, I found myself breathing deeply.

_There I go again…_

I wasn't sure what to do- it was like two forces were duking it out inside of me, and I was praying with all my might that the lighter side was going to win. Every now and then, the darker side would gain the upper hand, in the form of my unintended outbursts and odd behavior. Just what exactly had Eggman done to make me like this? I was Super Sonic…he caught in that dang trap…and somehow managed to cipher the energy right out of me and the Chaos Emeralds. Was there some other factor to this whole equation I was missing?

"C-Chip…" I muttered, getting ready to tell him about my thoughts.

"Yeah Sonic?" Chip chirped, without a clue to my mixed inside feelings. My heart sank- I just couldn't burden him with my own problems like this…

"…um, there's a symbol barrier way over there! Do you have any idea where the first Light Key might be?"

Chip shrugged and started to look around, leaving me to wallow in my confusing thoughts.

"You could try punching that wall over there!" Chip suddenly suggested, pointing to where he was talking about. I was glad I had something to pull me away from my mind and quickly ran over without hesitation.

"Good idea!"

"Over there!" Chip frantically ushered me to a similar place, to which the wall blocking it off met my fist. What did you know? It did have the first light key we was looking for! Just beyond that was a strange structure with two 10-rings on either side.

_It really amazing how such simple rings can influence your life. As long as you manage to cling onto one, you can never die. I know from experience._

I knew what THAT meant, and stepped inside. I felt the force field rise behind me, and the glares of the bees that surrounded me. I heaved up a crate and chucked it at two, causing an instant death. The remaining ones looked at each other and buzzed around frantically.

"I wouldn't irritate me if I were you…" I hummed, scooping up another crate while they desperately attacked me. The little pokes stopped as soon as I whirled around with the heavy crate. The two bees were sent smashing into the wall, and turned into dark energy.

_I can see it now! Crates…the bug spray of the future!_

Breaking down another wall to see if a Light Key was behind it, I was attacked once again.

_"They've gotta be here for a reason!"_ I thought to myself, defeating the last ambusher. The force field fell and I smashed through another wall. A small path decorated with potted plant led to…another wall! I broke it down and found…nothing!

"Rip off!"

Backtracking past the entrance to the false path, I found an entrance that actually led to a light key. Slightly on guard since enemies could appear at any moment, I reached out and grabbed the key. Unsurprisingly, the monsters weren't letting me get away with it. There were six, and they had shoved me into a corner. All I could hear and feel was the sound of my battle cries, and my fists hitting flesh. They finally caved, and I ran out, anxious to find the last light key. There was one last wall, and I wasn't sure if it was actually behind it. Nevertheless, I tore it down and there it was.

"Yes! I rule!"

Spotting the barrier up ahead, I dashed toward it at full speed-well, full Were-hog speed. With the barrier out of the way, I could now access steps that led to what was probably a battle zone! It had a small stone fountain calmly flowing naturally, but it wouldn't last for very long. The force field shot up, but no enemies came out. This instantly freaked Chip out, and he fled for safety on the fountain. Then, eight rhinos and one big one-which I dub Rhinoceros- came out, apparently angry that I intruded on their fountain. I decided it was best to take out the Rhinos before the Rhinoceros, only so they wouldn't annoy me while I tried to take it out. This proved to not work when more kept appearing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Rhinoceros somehow commanding them back to life.

"Looks like you're going down first big guy…"

I tackled it head-on, knocking it to the ground and slashing it. It kicked me off into its minions, which all were defeated by my awesome spikes. As they morphed back, I took the open chance to attack again. I showed it no mercy and finished it off with a might crate blow to the head. Spinning around to get rid of more Rhinos, I found that the Rhinoceros' death had caused them not to come back. I grabbed a 10-ring and continued on my way. Surprisingly, after all the battling, I found myself less and less tired.

_Must be a Were-Hog thing…_

The path after was pretty long and straight forward, so I just ran down it. Chip didn't seem to mind either. The best part was probably the Goal Ring at the end of it.

"I told you it wouldn't be too long!" bragged Chip. I chuckled too.

"Yeah, I guess you did…"

I felt myself learn the Were-Wallop move, whatever that was, and found a tablet fragment with a blue jewel just behind where the Goal Ring was.

"These must have something to do with putting the world back together!" Chip noted, looking at it and even sniffing it. I snatched away, appalled, and agreed that he was probably right.

"That must be why I was somehow lead here!"

If I was correct, it was the other half of the tablet I had found earlier…I attempted to put them together myself, but it was looking like they could only be connected by someone who actually knew what hey were doing. Giving up, I put them both away and prepared to head back to actually find someone who could put them together. Chip, however, went beyond the Goal Ring and into the structure. I stared at him curiously.

"Well? Let's see if there's anything else!"

I shrugged, satisfied that there was a purpose to this run after all, and followed Chip into a sight I wasn't prepared to see.

Several Rhinoceroses and one large…hulk were surrounding a small yellow two-tails fox: Tails.

"Whoa…h-hey! S-settle down guys! Come on!" he quivered. "H-heeeelp!"

Part of me was like "I need to save Tails!" while a deeper part of me screamed "I can't let him see me like this!" This was a torn decision…

_In a twisted way, it was kind of a choice between day and night._

Like a helicopter, he flew behind a wall, shaking with fear.

"Sonic! Get out there and kick some butt!" Chip ordered.

"But what if Tails sees me?"

"What? You're going to let your appearance let a kid be mauled by some giant clubbed monster?"

"Well, when you put it THAT way…I don't want to be clubbed by a giant monster either!"

Chip smacked his head. "He's behind the wall, so he can't-"

"I'm sure he'd be watching the one that saved him, Chip…"

Chip's eyes twitched. "But you're Sonic the Hedgehog! You don't let little things get in your way of saving innocent lives!"

_That struck a nerve._

I looked at him, my face slightly cracked from the fact that what he said was true…almost.

_"I'm not Sonic the Hedgehog…I'm Sonic the Werehog..."_

And that wasn't going to stop me.

I silently headed over, mentally calling myself a dead-hog walking. I glanced over my shoulder with one last remark to Chip.

"By the way…Sonic the Hedgehog is the coolest guy in the world, so _he _doesn't have to worry about appearance…"

_Currently I wasn't "him" though, so it didn't necessary apply to me at this particular moment._

Giving a wink and walking away, I could just see Chip's mouth drop, somewhat confused and surprised, but I was more focused on the battle to even check. I could feel Tails' eyes widen and burn into me, like he saw who I really was but couldn't believe it. But one glance at what awaited me was slightly more unsettling…

"I might be screwed…"

There was that giant monster, large monsters, medium monsters, a couple small ones…

_"GULP…"_

"Here we go…"

Five of the small monsters -Pipsqueaks- started to surround me, like they were meant to be the first to go. The larger ones hung back, but I wasn't ready to deal with them yet. With one 360 claw swing, all five were taken out. I pounced on an unsuspecting one and threw it into another. Just when I went to finish it off, a Rhino rammed me into the ground and another thrust me into a wall. More Pipsqueaks jumped on me, just to feel important. With a loud snarl, I clawed my way out of the pile, killing them all at the same time. Instantly after that my arm made contact with a Rhino's jaw, plowing him into another one.

"That's for double-teaming on me! Don't you know two against one isn't fair?" I growled, bashing their heads together. One died, the other didn't. I simply kicked my leg out, made contact, and it collapsed with pain. I took a moment to snicker, which probably wasn't the best idea…three more Rhinos and eight more Pipsqueaks ran in to attack. That large hulk

kept eying me, and I was just glad it hadn't bonked like a whack-a-mole. Jumping into the air and hammering down on four Pipsqueaks, a Rhino knocked me off balance. Quickly regaining it, my fist slammed into its shoulder with a sickening crack. Roaring loudly with discomfort, I saw Chip out of the corner of my eye quivering behind the entrance.

"All right…" Pulling off a Pipsqueak gnawing on my leg, I chucked my new item at the Rhino with a now dislocated arm. Another wail and it dissolved into black. Apparently his two pals weren't happy about that and crushed me between them, plowing into me from the sides. The last two Pipsqueaks were scraping my ankles, so I flicked my feet back and my shoe-spikes did them in. The Rhino were squeezing me tight, both shoulders starting to dig into my chest.

"ARGHARRRRR!"

My arms-with strength that could beat Knuckles- managed to shove the apposing forces away and into the ground. I hacked each of them twice, smashed their heads together, knocked them down, then clasped my hands together and thrust into their chests. The shockwave that came after that finished them off.

"Man this fur is making me sweat…" I complained while drying off my forehead. Making a quick surveillance of the area, there were two more Rhinos, nine Pipsqueaks (how?), and the Giant Hulk Monster Thing was…raising its giant mallet! It caused an earthquake on the ground, sending a harmful shockwave in my direction. I ran around the outer part of the area to snag some rings.

"Give me your best shot now-ouch!"

The hammer made contact with my back. I fell from the force, impact…and most likely the pain!

"That's going to hurt in the morning…"

I managed to kill the Rhino, squash the Pipsqueaks, and now I was able to face The Hulk! It went to pound its weapon into the ground again, but I jumped in time to avoid the shockwave and succeeded to damage it in the same move. Chip was jumping up and down in the background to cheer me on. As the brute went to crush me one more time, I punched it in the shin of the leg on the ground while its other leg was in the air, leaving it unbalanced. It roared, swayed a bit, and fell with a large boom. I broke its weapon in two just for the heck of it, face donning a snarling expression.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall! Next time, don't mess with innocent children! You never know who their friends are…" I snickered silently. My _original _plan was to run as soon as they were gone, yet I glanced over at Tails, who I realized hadn't been watching, and instead was covering his head and cowering in fear. Something inside me just kicked in and I HAD to talk to him.

_Well, I DID have to let him know it was safe…_

"Hey Tails…" I trailed, attempting to make my voice sound normal, but THAT was an epic-fail.

He instantly looked up, and this time, his eyes really did widen in wonder. "Sonic?" he asked slowly.

_HE RECOGNIZED ME? Yes! That's my little buddy! No, that's my little bro! I couldn't believe it! I was so happy, I almost forgot that he was seeing me as a hideous monster and-_

I felt my heart stop. A cloud that was covering the moon uncovered it, and the moonlight shone down on me. I felt like I was in an unwanted spotlight. Oh, where was the sweet sun?

"What are you doing out here?" I continued, now that I knew there was no turning back.

"Especially at night!" cried Chip.

But he ignored my question and asked one of his own. "Sonic? Is that really you?"

He flew over to me, still awestruck, and I didn't really know what to tell him. And here I thought he recognized me. Luckily, I didn't have to answer.

"That's a new look! What happened?"

_My new look huh? Glad you noticed! Oh, I just went down to the Body Shop and got a makeover! It came with the deluxe package of a new hairstyle, some claws, new shoes…and nothing to do with my super form being ripped out of me and replaced with this…_

You know me…never a dull moment!" I smirked-wait, I SMIRKED?

"Isn't THAT the truth…" Chip yipped behind me. If Tails wasn't there, I would've hit him…I guess he could sense I was annoyed, and landed in front of Tails. He pulled out a chocolate bar from nowhere that I have no idea how he obtained, and asked "Want some chocolate?"

"…Uhh thanks?"

He wanted to know the whole story, and started walking. So I followed and filled him in with the story of my falling out of the sky, meeting Chip, running through Apotos, and this form from hell.

"Wow…that's some story…" he finally said after I finished, still walking along the road. "I'll bet that means you turning into…_that_…"

_No offense taken!_

"…and the planet breaking apart are somehow related."

"I need to find Eggman and make him fix this…and FAST!" I roared, making Tails and Chip jump. Whoops. "Sorry…when he kicked me out of his Space Station thing, he just made me so mad! Grr…I want to make him PAY!"

"Please Sonic! Don't get mad…again!" pleaded Chip. Tails raised an eyebrow, recalling that part in the story and I just sighed.

"You're right…I can't myself do this to…myself…"

"About that…" Tails began, jumping in front of us to stop us from walking. "I think I might know someone who knows something about what's going on here."

"Oh really?" I asked, interested in ANYTHING that could remove this curse. Chip behind me was floating on his back, carefree like the world wasn't coming to an end.

Tails nodded. "Professor Pickle over at Spagonia University. I came to this city to gather some data. If we add that to his research findings, we might be able to get to the bottom of all this!"

_Wow._

"Spagonia?" I asked, walking over. "That's a continent over. An easy jog, if the planet weren't broken!"

_And if I was Sonic the Hedgehog…_

Tails put on a smug look, as if he was leading us here for a certain reason. "No problem! My Tornado 1 will get us there in a flash!"

One look at that Tornado made me spark. "Hey…that's MY Tornado! It's the red one!"

"Not exactly- I just made a newer model that looks like your old one!"

"Oh. Leave it to you Tails…" I chuckled. "Let's get moving!"

_The original Tornado was destroyed. Trust me, I was crushed when that happened…_

I noted he had painted his insignia on the tail of the plane, rather than my name like all the planes before it, but it was just a small thing that wasn't even worth caring about. In the meantime, I had realized my fur was so puffy, I couldn't quite fit in the seat so I had to stand up and grab on. I couldn't ride on the wing either because my spiky shoes wouldn't have a grip! Chip got to ride on the wing, which drove me jealous. He turned around to say he was sorry if he took my spot, since he sensed that I unintentionally glared…but I had fallen asleep.


	8. Professor in a Pickle

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

I had been overjoyed when I woke up to see it was morning in Spagonia, and that I had returned to being Sonic the Hedgehog. I happily petted my sharp blue spikes, constantly tugged on my gloves to make sure there were no claws, and I kept running around to make sure I had my speed back. Chip was muttering something about it "being too long a night for me" as I stopped running to help them find the lab. Too bad I kept ranting on and on about how great I felt-and how great I was. They finally told me to hush on our way to the lab, which the professor's assistant gladly told us about.

"This is the place Sonic!" Tails explained. "Professor Pickle's lab! That assistant guy said he'd vanished…Let's go in and see if he's here!"

_If he vanished, he wouldn't be there…_

The assistant somehow beat us to the place, and Tails was gasping "The professor's been kidnapped!"

"It was a little bit before the tremors hit…" the assistant explained. "This old man showed up with a-" large stomach. "-and a-" broom mustache. "-and a whole PACK of robots!"

I had to stifle a laugh when he said "old man" and did all the motions.

"They carried poor Professor Pickle off, lab data and all!"

"It can't be…" moaned Tails sadly.

"That sure sounds like Eggman…" I nodded a bit more enthusiastically.

_What was your first clue? Old man, fat stomach, large wad of hair under the nose…or the whole pack of robots?_

"What a horrible thing to do!" cried out Chip. Tails and I hadn't reacted like that, since we were pretty used to him doing things like this. This resulted in us being slightly surprised by his statement. "We've got to go help out this poor Professor guy out, and fast!" He started to fly in a worried pattern. "If he got kidnapped that long ago, then he's got to be real hungry by now! And if I was that hungry…I-I don't know how long I would last! I'd rather be dead!"

He started literally playing dead on the floor- in an overdramatic manner. I smacked my head. Were-Hog or not, his food-brained mind always managed to get the best of me. I glanced at Tails who just stared at Chip strangely.

"I-I'm sure Eggman is feeing him…" Tails assured while I just looked on at the spectacle. "Even he's not that cruel."

_He's cruel enough to turn me into a monster though and start cackling and rant on about his great success!_

I suddenly started laughing at Chip's antics; he was currently rolling on the floor, gripping his stomach with his tongue dangling out. I pulled a thumbs up on him. "Okay…let's go find the professor!" Chip sat up and returned my thumbs up, making Tails ponder while looking at us.

"Why would Eggman kidnap the professor though?" Tails pondered. "What's he up to now?"

"You were saying something about how he might know something about my curse-I mean transformation…" I put out. "…and the whole world falling apart fiasco…"

"That's it! Somehow the professor's research threatens Eggman! And if it does, then I bet his notes will probably give us a clue."

He rummaged around until he found something under a pile labeled "Places".

"Here we are…a mysterious hole in Mazuri! Act now and think on it later! Time to head to Mazuri!"

"Hey…that was my line!" I laughed, teasingly giving him a punch on the shoulder. He mockingly winced as we jogged out the door.

"To the Tornado!" Chip cheered. I grinned.

"You take the Tornado…I think I'm going to run…"

Tails flew in front of me. "But you can't get to Mazuri by running! The planet's broken, remember?"

I shrugged. "Meh, I just run to the end of the city then! You can pick me up there!"

I bolted out the door.

_"I'll probably be waiting for you anyway!"_

I took off down the road, taking in the wind rushing past me. Spagonia wasn't as nice as Apotos-in my opinion- but it was still a decent place. It was older than the last city, but…I kinda liked the style. Once I ran out of the alley, I spun through a red loop and landed on a stair rail. Just as fast as I landed on it, I jumped off, Sonic Boosting because I felt like it.

"Yeah! Whoo! Feelin' good!"

The path took me to another rail-Epic Win!- running under a flagged arch way.

"Arches MUST be popular…"

I swapped rails twice, and then ran over a boost pad, sending me down another road. When this "road" ended, I realized I was really running over a roof. What's even weirder, I managed to snag a piece of pizza! It wasn't as good as Chili Dogs, but man it was tasty! As I finished off the crust, I ran over another boost pad and bounced over a wall. Smashing a robot that appeared out of nowhere, flinging me over another wall, and flying up onto a rail wasn't even a fourth of the city yet. Now above all the rooftops, I could see how far the city stretched out.

"Wow…way bigger than Apotos, that's for sure!"

_But knowing me, I'd probably reach the other side in record time._

Up, down, left right up…back, front…those springs were taking control of me! Even if I was enjoying it… I sprinted under a restaurant's roof, accidentally sending a plate of spaghetti into a man's face. Hiding a chuckle, I shouted back "Sorry about that!" and kept moving.

The next road was covered with tables with those fancy little umbrellas, so many that I didn't want to even call it a road,-and I crashed into most of them. I hope the Spagonians wouldn't charge me for disturbing the peace…because I was sure enjoying my own! I made a wide u-turn, crashing into an object I was sort of afraid to try and identify…

_Yeah, you wouldn't want to know…_

After a sharp turn, the alley began to get narrow, and buildings stuck out from both sides. Using my quick step to avoid and painful and embarrassing collision, I made it out of the passage unharmed.

"There are hardly any robots in Spagonia…" I pondered. "Maybe Eggman took them all back after kidnapping the professor!"

Right in the middle of my thought- I'm very interrupted these days- I found myself flung into the air! I nearly tripped when I landed on a roof, but my momentum kept me from falling. Now staying more alert, I rushed over more rooftops, jumped another gap, and literally flew down the next street! Between my amazing speed and the sudden dip and turn it took, it felt like I was in the air! I slightly braked, then headed under a tunnel similar to that one in Apotos.

"Huh…interesting…"

It didn't have as great a view, so I just brushed by without a second glance. However, when I _did_ take a second glance, I saw Tails and Chip waving at me in the Tornado. Quickly leaving the tunnel and jumping off the other side, Tails caught me with the wing and we headed off to save Professor Pickle…

**Mazuri-**

"Uh…why is it dark here?" I groaned, afraid of what was going to come next.

"We're on the other side of the world Sonic. I'd believe it'd be nighttime…"

"WHAT? You call that little sliver of sunlight a morning? Why couldn't we have waited for night to fall there, then come- Urrggguuuaaaaaaawwwwhhhh!"

The dark energy pounded back into me, and I felt the beast inside of me suddenly unleash.

_The sad part was that I was sleeping when I had changed back to normal Sonic, so I couldn't enjoy the up-lifting change. No, I got to experience an unleashing two times in a row!_

"Great…I feel like I just got rid of this horrid beast!" I growled.

"Well, like I said the thing that you said you were going to say Sonic…" Tails laughed. "Act now and think later!"

"So you want me to go on a killing spree now, then moan and complain about this later?"

"Uh…no, not quite…"

Chip jumped on me and tugged on my fur. "C'mon Sonic! We gotta find that hole and save the starving professor!"

Tails looked around curiously. "I'd like to ask someone about it, but no one is even here!"

I punched my fist into my hand. "Eggman was definitely here then!"

Chip was flying around anxiously searching. "Hey Sonic! I think I see the hole Tails was walking about!"

"Where?"

"Over there, behind that building…"

"I see it too!" shrieked Tails. "Let's go Sonic!"

I shook my head. "…and I thought I liked to rush…"

. . .

The hole was more of an entry way into a secret base. I ran in, slowly, with Tails by my side and Chip following behind.

"Professor Pickle!" Tails called to the prof., sitting in a glass dome hanging off the ceiling. "Are you all right? We came as quickly as we could!"

_This really wasn't all that fast in my opinion…_

Tails and Chip flew up to him, leaving unimportant ol' me back on the ground.

_Curse my inability to fly. _

"Professor?" Tails knocked on the glass.

Um, hello?" tried Chip.

"Hi! I exist too!" I called from below.

"How dare they call this culinary concoction food!" he mumbled to himself, barely paying attention to Tails and Chip. He flapped his sandwich toward Tails, but Chip was eyeing with a drooling mouth. "Look here; do you see this sorry excuse for a sandwich? The bread should be no less than ¾ of an inch thick! Upon it, one tablespoon of mayonnaise, and a pinch of black pepper."

The two flying friends glanced at each other. Maybe Chip would complain about the qualities of a sandwich while being captured, but an ingenious professor shouldn't!

"…the contents FRESH cucumber, sliced THINLY, if you please! Am I quite right Tails?"

"I know I learned something here today!" Chip input after an awkward silence. I had to smile at that.

"P-Professor…it's good to see you haven't changed…" Tails chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"But tell me. What brings you here? The _menu_ is hardly worth the trip if you ask me…"

"You've been kidnapped!" I shouted from below.

"N-no professor…we came here to rescue you!"

He found a button and hit it, sending the glass dome out of existence.

"Oh? OH! I see, how rude of me." He started striding down the stairs that appeared before him. "Right then, first thing's first. It's about time someone taught the chef here how to make a proper sandwich."

He started heading off, and I was about to reach out and grab him, but I forgot about my claws and paused half way through. Tails did my job for me.

"You can file a complaint later Professor!"

"Let's get out of here before Eggman's welcoming committee shows up…" I FINALLY managed to get a word in. Professor turned to me and nodded.

"Oh yes. Quite. But let us be sure to collect the contents of that vault before departing."

I swung my arm over my shoulder, kinda of in a pre-pitching stance. Then I pounded it into the vault, smashing it to smithereens, all from where I was standing.

_That so proved it! I'm __way__ stronger than Knuckles!_

Tails was in and out instantly, handing a small tube up to the professor.

"Ah. Thank you. Those documents are our only hope for surviving this crisis!" he explained. "Let's go! There's no time to lose. I'm half-starved after being fed nothing but those terrible sandwiches!"

Chip instantly knew how to cure that! "Want some chocolate professor?"

"My my! Don't mind if I do!"

I shot a glance at Tails who was doing the same thing to me. We just shrugged and ran after them.

**Spagonia, where it's suddenly nighttime-**

"It's nighttime HERE now? What, are we following the moon or something?" I grunted. The room was instantly cleaned after we returned, and now Chip was calmly sucking down a cup of tea.

"Back to what I was saying…These ancient documents are known as the Gaia Manuscripts. They tell the legend of a disaster that befell our planet some tens of thousands of years ago."

"A disaster?"

"That doesn't sound good…"

"Quite. And according to the Gaia Manuscripts…this isn't the first time the planet broke into pieces. The cause lies at the core of the planet…All the phenomenon we've witnessed are the direct result of one creature- Dark Gaia."

Chip was fidgeting around complaining that his tea was empty. Annoyed, I gently shoved him aside to focus on the Professor.

"So how do we stop this Dark Gaia and put the world back together?"

"Luckily, Dark Gaia has yet to be fully reborn. We most likely have Dr. Eggman's pre-mature wake-up call to thank for that."

Chip jumped up and grabbed the tea-kettle.

"If we act now, we may be able to restore the planet by returning power to the Chaos Emeralds…"

I pulled a darkened Chaos Emerald from out of my quills. The memories of Eggman's attack on me flooded back, all while I was on top of the world, only to be sent falling into a very painful crater. I now understood what must have happened was that a part of Dark Gaia's energy somehow overtakes me at night…But, I also remembered how I was juggling them in Apotos, just enjoying the town and talking to Chip…

"Sonic, you must travel to each of the temples listed in the Gaia Manuscripts."

"That's not a surprise."

"The planet's power will restore the Emeralds, and in turn the Chaos Emeralds will restore the planet and help it heal naturally."

"Great, but where exactly do I go?"

"Now, where are the Gaia Temples? Deciphering the Gaia Manuscripts will reveal the location of the temples. The initial results of my analysis indicate there is a temple in Mazuri."

I jumped in happiness. "…and since it's night here, it'll be morning there! Aw Yeah! Let's rock and roll!"

_Finally, something to lift my spirits._


	9. No Misery in Mazuri

**Just about the quickest update yet...but I really like this chapter a lot! I put in a bit more Tails, a 360 level, and...well, just a good feeling (how corny XD). **

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Unleashing Sonic- Story Mode

"C'mon! You can't _still_ be mad about the plane ride-" I groaned to Tails once we landed in Mazuri.

"Well I didn't need you describing every last wonderful detail about the transformation either Sonic…"

"You'll never be able to feel my pain!"

Chip then flew into my and Tails' argument. "Sonic! Some guy with a weird mustache is causing a panic! Wait…is that Eggman?"

I jerked my head to where he was pointed, and my face twisted up into a scowl. "Yep…Eggman."

"That egg is always rotten…" Tails grunted. I smacked my head.

"Nice witty banter!" applauded Chip.

"Thank you; I've been working on it…"

"Guys…Mazurians getting attacked by robots?"

"Riiiigggghhhttt…."

The robots held their arms high, ready to attack, while the people of Mazuri held their ground.

"Wh-who are you?" one boldly asked.

Eggman cackled that evil laugh that still haunts me… "Fear not, my good villagers! If you all behave, I won't have to do anything nasty. All you need to do is tell me where the temple of Gaia is…"

"We're not telling you anything!" one kid shouted, tossing a rock and hitting Eggman square in the head.

_Wow…that kid was bold. I give him points for that._

Chip, Tails, and I covered up our mouths to prevent a laugh blurt-out, because Eggman still didn't know we were even there…

As the leaders of the village kept everyone back, Eggman's own robot was heckling him. He shoved it back into its hole as he stared the villagers down.

"So you dare to defy me, do you?"

_This next part was probably the greatest moment next to that ice cream in Apotos._

A blue blur streaked past Eggman's face, plainly something curled into a blue ball. Oh wait…that was actually **me**! I slammed into each of the robots, breaking them down on contact with cocky chuckles. Spinning into the air and spreading my arms as if to say "Hey Egg-head! Remember me?", I held back a snicker when Eggman cried out "Whaaaat?!"

"Sonic!"

I landed casually, a hand on my hip.

_I was really glad the sun had risen…other wise I would have never heard the end of it with Eggman…_

"Yo Eggman!" I called cheerfully…and slightly smug. Hey, it was a special occasion. Chip landed by my side and snickered the same thing while dancing around in a fighting pose.

_Talk about embarrassing…but I was being too cocky to care-or to tell him to stop. It would've ruined the moment._

"Thanks for that little skydiving adventure the other day!" I pounded my fist into my palm, ready for action. I was so going to enjoy this…

"I should have known you'd still be alive you stubborn little hedgehog!"

_He thought I DIED?! Man, I was going to kick his butt 20 times over!_

"What are you doing out here?"

"I see no reason to tell you. In any case, I'm busy. Farewell!"

He zipped off in whatever Egg-carrier mobile thing he had now.

"Wha-? Hey! Wait! That's playing dirty!" whined Chip. "Come back!"

"Just ignore him…" I told Chip, though that was the last thing_ I_ wanted to do. I turned to the crowd and asked "Is everyone all right?"

They all nodded and told me yes, and I started getting that usual royal treatment. The villagers constantly thanked me, shook my hands, and the kid that threw the rock bragged a little bit. I just reacted naturally until the elder tapped my shoulder. He gave me a tablet that opened the way to their temple, and I instantly set out after Eggman.

"Be careful, young hedgehog!"

I winked and nodded, already heading toward the path, but then I decided to chat with Tails first.

"I'm heading out Tails! Wanna come with us?" I asked. It had been a long time since we did anything like that together.

Tails got quiet and scratched the back of his head. "I-I'd go with you, but…well, you have Chip to keep you company and I have a few adjustments to make to the Tornado anyway so…"

"Tails, you always want to come on adventures with me-what's up?"

His tails seemed to droop. "Just...something's bothering me..."

"What is it?"

He squirmed. "I-I well, um..."

I gave a soft smile and ruffled my hand in his hair (well, fur…but you know what I mean).

"Don't worry little bro. If you don't want to talk about it understand."

"Really?!" he gasped, half-relived and half-suprised.

"Sure-but if you ever want to, I'll be there okay?"

Tails' mood brightened up. "You mean it?"

I smirked. "Have I ever intentionally broken a promise?"

Tails grinned. "Nope!"

He gave me a quick hug and instantly jumped into the plane, tools ready to do some work.

"Good luck Sonic!"

After one last wave, I grinned and rubbed my hands together.

"This'll be fun!"

* * *

Getting to the shrine wouldn't take me too long, but still, I wanted to enjoy the daylight. Mazuri was quite an interesting place. A few trees here, some grass there, and sand and animals in between- but a lot of room to run in!

"Do you think we'll run into a lion or something Sonic?" Chip asked a little ways down the road. I snickered.

"Of course not! Last time I checked, hedgehogs and flying dogs aren't on their menu…"

He seemed to calm down and floated off, leaving me to my run. I drifted around a corner that wound its way around a small building of some sort. Drifting again, a few more houses around a lake started appearing.

_How does a lake survive in such a hot place? I've gotta ask Tails…_

Breezing by, I turned once again, headed for one large structure. Two small dome areas sat on either side of it, while the structure itself was long with two towers holding up the entry way.

"Interesting…"

"Sonic! Look OUT!" Chip wailed. Robots built literally out of the air, catching me slightly off-guard.

_Curse the awesome sights! When this whole Dark Gaia situation is over-and I'm not part monster anymore- I'm exploring the world!_

I jumped up, placing my hand on the head of the robot and quickly flipped over it. Once back on the ground, I Sonic Boosted through the rest of them. I was going so fast I almost didn't realize I hit a spring and was in the air! I landed on a boost pad and rocketed off, now on top of the structure. I tore down the side of it, cheering all the way.

"You really get a kick out of running, don't you?" Chip pondered.

"Heck yes!" was my instant reply. "The rush I feel when running, the adrenaline when I'm living on the edge…it's something only I can do!"

_Which is the main reason why I hate being a Were-hog._

"YEAH!"

Another boost pad, another daring jump over a gap…which I, of course, stuck the landing! Chip had his eyes closed the entire time, but I assured him I was going to be fine with all my stunts. He wasn't convinced. I just shrugged, bounced on a spring, narrowly avoided some spikes, and blasted off from another boost pad.

"You GOTTA check this one out Chip!" I pleaded, jumping into a green ring, spiraling into two more and landed on a rail. It led me to an instant loop, which I ran through easily. Chip had peeked through his covered eyes, then broke out into an impressed grin.

"That's awesome Sonic!" he cried. Then, he got a mischievous smile. "Hey…if you're such a show-off, then do something cool after you get shot out of that cannon!"

I jumped into the cannon he was talking about and shot myself straight into the air with a smirk.

"Like THIS?"

I corkscrewed into the air, then did several front flips and landed on a rail while striking a pose. Chip clapped as I took a bow while grinding.

"Pretty good!"

"_Feeling_ good!"

I decided enough showing off and focused on actually making it to the shrine. I ran up the side of the wall, then Spin Dashed into a robot. Leaping off from a spring, I grabbed a hold of an arrow jetting from the side of the wall.

"This is a new one…" I pondered while swing up into the next one.

_Unless you count the poles at nighttime…_

I propelled into a line of loops, then left a blue streak on a looped rail. The newly gained momentum helped me sprint across a collapsing bridge (with a small yelp from Chip).

"I told you Chip…" I started while launching out of a canon and soaring over the edge of a wall. "You don't need to worry about me!"

"Why not?" he asked just as I smashed a robot to pieces. I briefly braked to a stop.

"I can handle anything life manages to throw at me!" I explained. He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Like how you can handle you nighttime form?"

_Ooh…he's good._

I twirled my hand around. "That's...a whole different thing!"

"No it's not! Life threw it at you right?"

"…"

"What?"

I kicked a rock. I didn't want to tell him anything I felt related to…my other form, and during broad daylight was the last time and place I'd want to think about it. Finally, I looked up into his eyes.

"…I'm more worried about you! You don't have any memories, no where to go…"

Chip smiled and landed on my head. "I'm not too worried about it anymore actually."

"Really?" I asked as I started jogging again.

"Yep! When this is all over I'll just stick with you and we can go on all kinds of adventures! And on those adventures, I can makes **new** memories with you, and all your friends!"

I smiled, then broke out into an outright grin. "With that said, let's go make some memories now! Hang on!"

He obeyed and grabbed my ears as I Sonic Boosted full-speed ahead. We ran over a boost pad, resulting in me going so fast we ended up in a blue and raspberry ball of energy! Even more-so, we were on the _underside_ of a platform! Chip's grip on my ears tightened and I couldn't help but giggle. I uncurled so I could grind on an up-coming rail, and Chip's screams slowly turned to cheers. I swerved around sticking-out buildings in an alley way, then ran straight into springs and grabbed hold of a zip line. The moment before I landed again, I called out to Chip.

"Get ready!"

Before he could reply, I ran full speed over a ramp, sending us into the air and over dozens of robots and platforms. I urged myself to make it all the way across, but it looked like we were going to land in some fire instead.

"Sonic!"

"Almost there…"

I willed myself to go a few more feet, but it was hopeless at this point.

_Tails probably would've told me the speed I was going and the trajectory of the ramp weren't adjusted enough to make that kind of jump, or something like that…_

Just before my foot hit the flames, I somehow managed to quick-step in the air and make it to the wall, using it to propel us onto the next ledge. We both took a sigh of relief; me wiping some sweat off my forehead. Another ramp came up, and next thing I knew, I dangling from a pole.

"Wah...wah…wah…wah…" Chip moaned while I was trying to swing us to the next one. "Wah…wah...wah…Waaaaaaaaah!"

"Hey-yah!"

We made it successfully this time around, and I was pretty proud of myself. Chip saw what was coming up next and he started digging his fingers into my ears. I cringed, but if he was scared, then let him relieve it. I ran over a Boost Pad, and I took off up the side of a wall.

"Dooooo…yoooouu…nor-mal-ly doooo this??" Chip babbled.

"Yep! Whee!"

"Daaaaaahhh!"

I made a right angle turn, still running on the wall, but going horizontal instead of vertical. Chip, in fear of looking down, squeezed his eyes shut. He kept them shut while I bounced from tree to tree and made contact with a grind rail.

"You can open your eyes now…"

Chip cracked one eyes open, seeing it was safe now, and smiled once again.

_He might have been a bit of a fear-maniac, but he was brave enough to hop on my head in the first place!_

"How far away IS this shrine?" I complain, using a pulley to get onto a tree-house. "The villagers were like, "Oh, it's right over there!" and we're STILL trying to find it!"

Chip playfully tugged on one of my spikes. "Stop complaining and enjoy it!"

"Having fun now?" I smirked, slightly ignoring his comment, and I jumped over to a boost pad that sent us through a loop-de-loop!

"Whoo hoo!" we both cheered.

"Yes-I'm having fun! Look: grind rail!"

"Sweet!"

We both let out a cry of excitement when I jumped onto it, then took out some robots and jumped back to the other part of the fort. I bashed one more robot, jumped into a rainbow ring, then twirled myself onto another grid rail. I felt like a rollercoaster with way I dashed off it and around another loop in the path!

"You're right Sonic! Running is awesome!"

I smirked. "When am I ever wrong?"

"Well-"

"Don't answer that."

I jumped into the air, curled up, and Spin Dashed three robots.

_I wonder why there are only robots in daytime…shouldn't they still be running amok at night too?_

After grinding another rail, Chip removed himself from my head and floated around. I rubbed my ears, trying to relieve them of the previous stress.

_"Man, he really has a grip!"_

I continued down the boardwalk, feeling myself getting closer to the shrine.

_"But hey!"_ I spread out my arms, effortlessly flying through yet another loop-de-loop. _"I almost don't mind if we never make it! I'm having a blast!"_

Speaking of blast, I Sonic Boosted under a yellow and orange tent, then under yellow, orange, and blue flag things. Chip happily flew up and bounced from one to the next. I drifted around a corner and ran over a ramp. Time seemed to slow down as I hovered in the air before I did a 360 and flipped onto a high grind rail. Waving my way over that, I leapt onto a spring and onto another tree hut. I worked my way around the tree (which took quite a bit of entertaining time), eventually swirling around one really twisted path, flying through two rings, and reaching the top of the tree where the shrine was.

"Yeah! Beautiful!"

Chip motioned for me. "C'mon Sonic! Let's head in and catch up to Eggman!"

I grinned and scratched my head. "heh heh…all right…"

We headed up to the shrine, and this one was_ way_ darker than Apotos'. I ended up transforming back to a Were-hog, but it didn't hurt as much this time knowing I'd be back to normal in a few moments.

"wow! We just warped all the way to a whole different Gaia gate!"

Strangely, instead of a Sun, Moon, and Star door, this temple just had a Star door. Half sad that there was no sun, but half happy there was no moon, Chip opened up the door for me.

"Are you ready to break an egg?" Chip asked me, trying out some banter like Tails. Forgetting how bad that line really was, I nodded my head.

"More than I'll ever be!"

Chip nodded. "Good! Because when we're done, I think I'm going to need an egg-salad sandwich or something…"

I chuckled at his comment while entering the door, all while thinking about the up-coming battle with Eggman.

_He's gonna pay for giving me this curse-I mean, "transformation"…but I can't help but think it's not just a transformation after all…_

**

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**This is going to be the last update until I get to Holoska in my already-finished chapters, because I'm kinda stuck in nighttime Spagonia...and I don't want that pressure feeling you get when you don't have a chapter already done. (I've got three other stories with that problem**)

**On another note...Just yesterday, the official amount of visitors were over 500 for the month! (and for me, that's_ great_...) But still...I haven't gotten any feedback on the last two chapters at all, and I'm hoping to make a difference with this one. **

**With that said, sayonara!**


	10. All Bark and no Bite!

**Okay, I'm not in Holaska yet...but Spagonia night seems to drag. Hm. Oh well-I'll have time to work on it tomorrow. Anyway, enjoy the boss battle!**

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Unleashing Sonic- Story Mode

Over a bridge, fast as lighting. I kinda felt like a ninja with my regained quickness. Eggman was driving ahead of me, with some large needled-bug robot.

_It's a shame the robot felt the pain instead of Eggman…_

I easily caught up to it with a slow jog, and I doubt he knew I was behind him.

"Eggman!"

He glanced over the side and saw me smirking at him.

"Rggh! How'd you get here so quickly?"

_Gee, because I'm the fastest thing alive?_

"No matter. Your road ends here!"

He and his bug creation somehow managed to fly ahead of me, long enough for Eggman to get his pod into the seating space in the beetle. I skidded stylishly to a stop, not wanting to be stabbed by that giant pincher.

"Behold! My new power!"

"Here we go…again!"

"Egg-Beetle! Go!"

"ooh! Adding the "go" to your command. That's original…"

"Shut up and be beaten by my beetle, Sonic!"

"You're the only bug I see…"

"You'll pay for that!"

_You're going to pay for unleashing me! Whoa…"unleashing me?" …I'm freaked out._

I took a fighting stance, then Chip appeared out of nowhere and did the same.

"All right…let's see how we can pull this one off…" I muttered, speaking my thoughts. I know I wasn't going my fastest, but I couldn't seem to catch up with it! The pinchers suddenly launched into the air, and I couldn't help but cock my head.

"How about this?" chortled Eggman, launching purple box things that I easily avoided.

"Is that the best you have? I'd think after breaking the planet apart you'd have a little more up your sleeve!" I called with a smug look. I was finally starting to catch up with him, to add on to the smugness, until the pinchers, well, pinched together with me in-between them. As Eggman laughed, Chip floated over my shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

I winked. "Oh, trust me-I've had much, much worse than a little pinch!"

He grinned and flew back out of the way. Now returning my full focus back to Eggman, I gathered some rings then sprung into the air; the re-opened pinchers gave me a one-way ticket to the focal point of the machine. Good thing I didn't spring though-because he was jetting away from me once again.

"Now I know how to beat you…" I thought to myself with a grin. I dodged some more of his boxes again, then got ready for my attacking chance. As soon as I passed his last box, I gave myself a Sonic Boost and blasted into the Egg Beetle. It toppled into the air, and I wondered how Eggman was able to stay in his little compartment. The Beetle must've been built with real bug reflexes, since it managed to flip itself over.

I mocked, "How about that?" Eggman scowled and began round two.

"Ohohoho! Are you fast enough to dodge THIS!?"

I had prepared for more meaningless boxes, but Eggman's aim improved and I was hit by two...BOMBS?! Didn't see that coming. Out of frustration, I bolted forward in perfect timing-the pinchers had spread out to welcome me! The Egg Beetle toppled again, but then started to fly alongside the branch we were fighting on.

_How a branch can be that long, I'll never know._

"Take this!"

I snuck a glance over my shoulder, seeing three missiles coming my way. No matter which way I moved, one was bound to hit me. I braced myself for the exploding pain that arrived on my back. The missile exploded on contact, and I let out a yelp. My rings scattered around me, and I snagged one bouncing right in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the beetle getting ready to pinch me again. One step ahead of him, I jumped backward out of the way. Eggman drove it in front of me while I started to regain my speed, ready to catch me off guard. I bounced again, though with a slower reaction, the claw just brushing under my shoe.

"You almost had me…" I snickered. "Try something less predictable next time!"

"I'll show you unpredictable…" I heard him murmur under his mustache. He rapidly fired more boxes; I quick-stepped out of the way. I did a Light-Dash on some rings, then flew forward. The beetle was starting to wear down, and so was Eggman…

"You're doing great Sonic!" cheered Chip. "It's almost dead!"

I shrugged. "I guess They don't call it a 'beat'le for nothing…"

Eggman snorted, failing to come up with a witty comeback. He simply tossed those boxes again. I didn't even wait to use my boost this time around! I sprinted forward, flying by all the boxes and knocking into Eggman's "New Power" once more. It turned over again, Chip suddenly shouting at me to take the chance. Following instinct, I performed one last boost and turned the beetle over for good. It exploded in an orange flash, and Chip floated over to give me a high five.

"You're amazing Sonic! You just took it on like no big deal!"

"Ha! Same as ever: all bark and no bite!"

* * *

Only moments later, Chip and I took a look around the tree-forted tops of Mazuri. He peeked over the edge and spotted something.

"AH!"

He frantically pointed downward, so I looked myself. It was a large structure, surrounding trees decorated with streaming drapes between their branches. Mazurians must've done that to honor the place.

"Is that the Temple of Gaia?" I wondered aloud.

"Let's check it out!"

I nodded, kicked my leg back and took off the edge, Chip fluttering behind me. On the way down, we were laughing at how far we managed to fly. I, of course, landed beautifully, but Chip had ended up on a streamer, slid down, and was bounced off. I caught him before he splattered onto the ground, and I ended up carrying him inside.

*^*

Deeper into the building, Chip migrated onto my head, which I actually didn't mind at all.

"Whoa…awesome…" he gaped, staring at everything.

"What IS this place?" I still had my guess it was the Temple of Gaia, but there really wasn't anything to prove my theory. Chip, for some reason, seemed to be entertained with every last column and light we passed. Sooner or later, we approached a shrine, with a pedestal sitting in the middle of some very fancy stone work. Chip noticed it before I did.

"Hey Sonic! There's something weird here, right in the middle!" he pointed out. I turned to where he referred to, and saw he was right. He flew over to inspect it, barely giving me a chance to walk over. Chip stuck his head into the middle of the pedestal, and noticed something strange.

"Hey…what's this hole?"

"Wait!" I cried, not wanting him to mess with anything. Not thinking, I stayed where I was standing and reached out. "There could be some kind of-"

_Typical. Random trap, shaking building, dramatic cutoff…should have seen it coming._

"Whoa! Wha-Hey!" Chip, in a scared fury, practically appeared behind me with the speed he flew, and I spread my arms out to protect him in case something was headed for us. Everything calmed down though, and the piece with the hole slowly popped out. Declaring it safe, I went to inspect it. After some quick realizing, I pulled out a black Chaos Emerald and placed it into a hole. It suddenly sparkled to life, energy and color flowing through it. It was the green one-which Shadow seemed to favor for some odd reason. It floated upward in a beam of light, both Chip and I gaping at the display.

"Wahoo!" Chip hurrahed, doing a mini-flip in the air. "The emerald's come back to life!"

"This was the Temple of Gaia! That's gotta be why Eggman was so keen on taking the place over!"

_"Ha! I knew it all along…I'm just good like that!"_ I bragged inside my head. My moment of boasting thought was shaken up by a small earthquake.

"Whoa-Ooaahhh!"

"Here we go agaaaaaaaain!"

_What was really happening was literally an earthquake. Outside, a ring on light emulated out of the temple, and a pillar of light shot out from the top, similar to the one the Chaos Emerald was in. The shaking in itself was the continent putting itself back together. A bright flash of blue, for the moment, was the sky, and the first continent had been restored._

Just as Chip and I were heading out, Tails managed to find us.

"Sonic! Good news!"

I braked and turned to Tails. Chip, who had been on my head, flew forward with the inertia and crashed onto the floor. My little buddy soared in the air, arms shaking with excitement.

"The planet! One of the broken pieces of the planet moved back into place!"

I grinned. "All right!" I motioned to Chip. "Nice job!" We slapped a high five, and I guess the force was too much for the little guy…he was like a helicopter with the was he was spinning off! Tails suddenly shoved some giant screen machine thing in my face.

"Take a look!"

I stared at the image, showing indeed the continent we were on had in fact, been restored.

_I'm still wondering how he managed to get that picture without hacking into a satellite…_

"Sweet!" After all, that was pretty cool.

"At this rate, you'll have the whole world back together in no time Sonic!" concluded Tails excitedly. I just folded my arms and tried to appear like it was no big deal.

"A planet sized jigsaw puzzle?" I asked, slightly flat. Tails raised an eyebrow. His face made me break out into a grin and give a thumbs up. "Sounds like a great excuse to see the world!"

Tails smiled back. "Only you Sonic…"

My smile got broader. Hey, if I somehow managed to get in as little nighttime as possible, this just might be fun!

_You can't avoid what's inside though…_


	11. How a Heart Breaks

**Bit of a shorter chapter (shortest yet) but the next few make up for it-oh yes...**

* * *

Unleashing Sonic- Story Mode

We arrived back in Spagonia, which of course, was nighttime. I didn't mind it so much this time around though-except the transformation… The purple aura engulfed me effortlessly, and I underwent the unpleasant experience.

_To me, it's more like my freedom is unleashed, rather than the beast within, because I feel chained to my were-form…_

"Urgh…I feel so exhausted after all that energy is pounded into me…" I huffed to Chip, strolling down the darkened streets. The place was quite empty, so Chip and I were just taking a look around while Tails talked to the professor about what to do next. Then, a familiar lovesick shiek rang out, and it wasn't hard to recognize what it was.

_The sound of Amy Rose about to glomp me._

"Found you Sonic!" she squealed, instantly wrapping me into a hug.

"Gah?!"

Now, since I was so accustomed to Amy always trying to get a piece of irresistible little me, I just handled it like normal.

"Oh Sonic! I've been looking for you forever!" Amy sighed happily, nuzzling into my…fur…

"H-hey…Let me go…" I said calmly. My voice…it was…deep…

Oh my God-Amy was hugging me as a Were-hog!!!!! I had completely forgot!

_I wanted to die at that moment! If I didn't want Tails to see me like this, I certainly didn't want _Amy_ to see me like this!! I had wanted to run off and get away before she noticed my "new look", but if she knew it was me then it couldn't have been that bad…_

Chip just looked on, not sure what to make of the situation. Amy stayed clinged.

_"Okay, okay…she still seems to know I'm Sonic…stay calm…"_

"Heh heh! You're crazy if you think you can get away from Amy Rose and…"

My fur…my voice…everything...it sank in… She suddenly stopped loving me.

"Ummm…"

Amy pulled away, and my heart stopped.

_"Don't open your eyes…"_

She opened her eyes and stared into the Were-hog. Instantly she yanked away and freaked out.

"Who are you?!" she screeched.

At least she wasn't scared but…**AMY** didn't recognize me!?

"Oh my gosh! I am SO sorry!" In a fit of shame and shock she shook me over to the side. I stumbled a bit, more from the aftermath of the shock than her push. "I just _completely_ mis-took you for somebody else!"

_"No no no no no no no no no no no no!"_

She turned away and pondered to herself. "That is SO strange! I could've SWORN it was him!"

Swear again! It's me Amy…

"Anyway, I'm REALLY sorry! See ya later…"

She ran off, perky and peppy, heading off to find "me". I just stood in a daze, reaching out to grab her, but already being a few seconds too slow.

_I could've stretched my arm out to get her, but something told me I didn't want to._

Chip, innocent and unable to understand just what I was feeling, just said a simple comment.

"Well THAT was weird! How come that girl didn't know you were you, Sonic?"

I slowly lowered my hand, not sadness, but some sign of being upset in my eyes. Chip floated in front me, taking a good look to see how Amy could've possibly not recognized me.

"I mean, I guess you ARE kinda…you know-"

Furry with claws.

"…and uh, these guys?"

Fangs.

_Why didn't she recognize me? Because I'm not me. I'm somebody else…_

Chip just pushed me out of what little comfort zone I had left. Amy. Did not. Recognize me. It struck hard! Yes, she mistakes Shadow and Silver for me, but…that's understandable! After all, they sort of look like me…

_Apparently a Were-hog looks nothing like a hedgehog_!

They don't have her chasing you and hugging you and telling you you're the best everyday like me…so when something like THAT happens…I never realized it would crush me so much… Chip instantly knew he had said the wrong thing at the wrong time and panicked. "oh, ah…I mean…D-Don't worry! Hey! You only LOOK really scary, Sonic!"

I had started walking away; I hadn't noticed! Chip really needed to leave me alone right about now…all he was doing was making me feel worse.

"Inside, you're the same as ever! I guarantee it, okay?"

_..._

"Soniiic! Cheer up!"

_Was I really the same on the inside? Well, I guess I felt it right now because I was a Were-hog but…I feel like there's this barrier inside of me, pushing that personality downward, just begging me to break free! Right now, I was pushing with all I had, and it wasn't budging…was it even breakable?_

Next thing I knew, Chip was trying to get me to eat chocolate! I kept stomping-slowly-off, shaking my head.

"Chip-"

"You want a piece?!"

"Chocolate can't help everything…especially me right now…"

**Deeper in the City-**

Chip had been awfully quiet since the incident, but then again I was too. There was nothing to say. Chip felt bad for making me feel worse, and I just felt bad. Soon enough, Chip's guilt got the best of him-even though it really wasn't his fault- and tried comforting me again.

"Aww, cheer up Sonic! Don't let it get to you!"

_A bit late for that._

His words constantly rotated in my mind, before and after, and moping around like Shadow sure wasn't going to help anything. For now, I was just going to have to forget all about Amy, and the fact that apparently I changed more than I thought-in other people's eyes, at least. Eventually, with all negative thoughts stored in the back of my mind, I decided we should ask around for some more info.

_The tragic part about all this was that the Spagonians managed to know I was Sonic…_

We had walked around, and after running into the guardian who mistook me for a hairy beast…we found the assistant. He had dark circles under his eyes, an evil glare, and he sneered at us.

"What? I'm not the same guy I was this afternoon? Pant pant…Hey, kid, I don't even know you!"

"Yeah something's wrong…" Chip gulped.

"You're getting on my nerves! Get lost, punk! Gasp…"

Stunned, Chip and I exchanged glances and made a mad dash for Pickle's Lab. Tails was sitting, messing with some invention, but he turned and waved nevertheless.

"Welcome back Sonic! Tails filled me in on your adventures." Pickle explained.

"You assistant's gone mad!" Chip blurted out.

"Oh? You saw my assistant? And he was very different? Hmm…I see. Clearly he too has fallen victim to Dark Gaia's influence. I suspected something like this might have happened to him. According to the Gaia Manuscripts, Dark Gaia is empowered at night…Its negativity impacts the deepest, darkest parts of the heart…I must do something immediately to assist my assistant."

Chip whistled.

"The data indicates several entrances to the holy temple. I just need a little more time to complete my research. First, find the temple in Spagonia, then the one in Holoska."

I jumped. "But its daytime in Holoska! Can't we go there first?"

"Sonic, you're already in Spagonia-" Tails began.

"But its daytime in Holoska!"

"The faster you finish in Spagonia, the faster I'll take you to Holoska, okay?"

I sighed and nodded. Pickle smiled.

"Don't forget to come back and tell us how its going Sonic!"

"Well, you heard them! To the shrine!" Chip yelled.

"We've got to find a tablet to get in there first-"

"I have it!"

My head turned to look at Chip, holding a moon tablet in his hands.

"How did you-"

"I saw two kids so I wanted to give them some chocolate, and then they told me that weird things were happening around the northeast side of town where the shrine was. Then they gave me this and-"

"To the shrine!" I yelped, grabbing Chip and dashing off.

"Hey! That was my line…"

I ignored him and sprinted through all the alleys. If weird things were going on…could it mean that people were like the assistant on the other side?

_Brrr…I didn't really want to think about that…_

*^*

The Moon Door was the one that was glowing-of course, and Chip floated over and opened it with his necklace.

_"Doesn't he wonder about that little orb thing around his neck? How does he manage to pull all that off?"_

Chip motioned for me to hurry, so I wasted no time and followed him through the door.


	12. Gotta Let It Go

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Hey Chip…" I asked, climbing up a set of stairs not far from the other side of the shrine.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering…don't you ever get curious about that jade pearl thing on your neck?"

His flying pattern went a bit screwy as he fiddled with it. "Y-yeah…I mean, it must be pretty important if it somehow can open all those doors in the shrines and raise the Chaos Emerald holes in the temples…"

I processed this. "Then…you might have something to do with this whole Gaia thing!"

"Huh?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Maybe you're like, a helper to all those Temple Guardians or something…"

Chip thought about it. "Maybe…"

"I think we're- sigh, hold that thought…"

Chip nodded and flew off to the side as a pack of Rhinos materialized. The force field went up, and I went to work.

__

In truth, I prefer Rhinos over Bees. Bees are so annoying and they always get tangled up in my fur!

I really wasn't focusing on the fight at all; my arms were the only things responding to my brain. Fighting like this was becoming a second nature! The set of Rhinos were surprisingly easy-only five, and very little energy. Chip returned to my side.

"So what about my orb?" he continued.

"Aw…never mind. Just a little thinking is all…" I dismissed it as we found a dead end-in the shape of a door. I effortlessly threw it open and continued through Spagonia's backstreets. The streets were quite still, yet I could've sworn I heard music far off in the distance. I simply thought it was nothing and carried on.

"Gah! These new bad guys can fly Sonic!" Chip yelped. I braked and saw two red, round creatures hovering in the air. "You'd better jump and take them down!"

__

My plan exactly.

I ran over, eager to knock them out of the sky, but then a force field covered up the door and four rhinos emerged.

"I was afraid it was going to be too easy!" I admitted, knocking the flying things down and using them to swing into the Rhinos. They weren't very smart and mobbed me, and within three punches they were all defeated. The field covering the door sank down, I stepped on a switch, and the door rumbled open. I ran over, but it quickly closed. Glancing over my shoulder, I realized the pressure switch needed…well, pressure.

"Try the metal crate!" Chip suggested, dancing on top of a steel cube. I stretched my arms over to grab it and swung it onto the switch. Now that the door stayed raised, we continued onward.

The streets of Spagonia were quiet-as always, but at least they were lit with lights. That lifted up the creepy atmosphere a little…not to mention the giant moon shining down onto the city. Right before I headed up some steps to an area under two large clock towers, another force field materialized and a pack of Rhinos stampeded after me. To top it off, a Rhinoceros decided to join the party. Just for fun, I picked a Rhino up and used it as a weapon against its brothers.

"These things are getting weaker!" I exclaimed.

"Or you got stronger!" Chip pointed out. I knocked out another monster.

"Yeah, could be that too…"

A Rhino snuck up behind me and nearly dislocated my shoulder, but I managed to move in time to only get hit in the back. I worked this up into some sort of spin attack, slashing my hands into every near-by attacker. With all the Rhinos gone, it only left the Rhinoceros. With a quick shout, I tackled it, slammed it to the ground, and punched it a few more times for good luck.

I thought I was done until Chip suddenly wailed, "There's another one!"

"Don't worry-I got it!"

"-and there's more Rhinos too!"

"…I guess I've got those too…"

I dashed at the second Rhinoceros, quickly swinging my arms to make it dizzy, then attacked like no tomorrow. The Rhinos started advancing on me, some getting a few hits on me.

__

Which I wasn't quite used to…sure, I've been hurt before-but that was only if I wasn't able to dodge.

I flipped my fists backward, knocking two out. One tried to avenge them, but I grabbed it before it touched me and threw it into another.

"Four down, two to go!"

They both snarled at me, hands and claws bared to attack. I struck a pose, daring them to attack me. Insulted, they rushed closer, only for me to double jump at the last moment and bash their heads together.

"It never gets old…" Chip sighed, staring at a picture he took. I shrugged.

"It's one of my favorite moves! They come to kill me, then I bash their heads! Simple!"

Chip nodded, then his face fell. "But don't you think all the fighting will get kind of old after a while?"

We headed up the stairs, then headed over where the barrier once was.

"Most likely…but what can we do?" I stopped walking and stared at the full moon in the sky. "It's Dark Gaia's influence on the world! If we're going to get the world back together, then the only thing to do is let them-"

"Bring it on!" Chip finished, throwing his hands in the air. I snapped my fingers.

"Exactly."

Just as I started walking off, Chip started looking at the moon too…set right between the clock towers.

"Spagonia's really not that bad at night!"

__

I could agree less.

"I suppose not…" I replied, suddenly smirking. "…but daytime is way more fun!"

I reminisced on my brief run the one morning we spent in Spagonia, and chuckled at my small antics. Chip nodded.

"Of course! I was just saying…"

"I know. C'mon…"

I started dashing.

"…we've got some work to do!"

Chip quickly dipped his hand in the glowing fountain, shivered at how ice cold it was, then hurried on after me.

__

Though it wouldn't take that long to catch up to me anyway.

. . .

I had refilled some health with a path of ring leading up more stairs. When we reached a balcony of some sort, a barrier that required light keys suddenly popped up. I lightly groaned.

"Finding these things are a pain…"

"C'mon Sonic! Think of the Goal Ring at the end!" Chip urged. I straightened up and reached out for a ledge.

"We gotta keep going!"

"That's the spirit!"

Once I had climbed up on the next building, the hunt for the light keys began.

"All right…they're usually either in plain sight guarded by monsters of in some hard to reach place…" I mused. Chip frantically flew around. "What is it boy?"

He suddenly stopped. "I may look like a dog, but you don't need to treat me like one!"

"Sorry…slipped out. Did you find a key?"

"Yeah! Way up there on the top of the left clock tower!" he pointed for emphasis, and I was actually surprised to see he was right.

How did I miss that during the battle? More importantly, how did I miss the fact we were on the clock tower as I spoke?

"Well…" I began my climb up. "…only one way to get to it!"

"Be careful Sonic! It looks awfully high…"

I snickered. "If I can fall from space and live then I'm sure I could survive a hop from a tower."

"Just looking out for you!"

Chip stayed on the lower level, watching me make my way up to the third. The top level, where the key actually was, was a lot higher… Thinking up a strategy, I glanced at the box of flowers and sparked an idea. I double-jumped off that, then shot my arm up before I got too low. My hand grasped the edge just in time.

"Whew!"

Pulling myself up, I snagged the key and prepared to jump down, but not before taking a glance at the entire city.

__

If there was one good thing about being a slow-mo, it'd probably be taking the time to enjoy the sights. I did that normally, but…for some reason, it now gave me a comforting feeling.

I leaned on the protective gate, just staring at the entire city. It was like that brief moment when I was in the air, king of all Spagonia-but just a brief moment. I had fell back down to earth and continued my run. Now, I could cherish the moment a lot longer. Chip eventually gained the courage to join me, and nudge my shoulder.

"I told you night wasn't so bad-check out this view!"

"All right, it IS a pretty awesome sight…"

I finally jumped down from the tower, on the left side, the clock striking 11 o'clock.

__

Hey, I couldn't stay still for long-that would never change.

I landed stylishly, sliding a grin to Chip.

"…but it still doesn't beat the one in Apotos."

__

I would never forget that.

Where I had landed, the second light key was floating next to me.

"Well THAT was convenient!"

I eagerly snagged it, hoping the final one would be as easy. But knowing better, I didn't get my hopes too high. Turning my head in every direction imaginable, I found the last one: on the tip of the fountain.

__

Okay, I could understand missing the clock tower key-that was farther away, but how did I not see one floating in an area I had been looking at the whole time? Weird…

"How are you going to get it?" asked Chip. I did some stretches.

"Like I would normally."

"What does that-"

I stepped back a few feet, then like a lion jumping through a flaming hoop, I dash/jumped into the key, grabbed it, did a flip over the water, and land back on my feet in the street. Chip pulled out a card from nowhere and gave me a perfect 10 score. I bowed, and the barrier's "lock" disappeared, along with the barrier itself. With a new way to go, I motioned for Chip and we raced down the path.

"I'm gonna win!"

"No I am!"

"Nuh uh! I see-"

"You about to lose?"

"No, just monsters…"

"Say what?"

As we jerked to a stop at a seemingly dead end, a bunch of bees morphed out of the ground.

__

Thank goodness there were crates…

Their buzzing really irritated me-I was considering starting to call them wasps, because it seems more threatening than "bee". Just as one stuck its stinger into my still-sore back, I stretched for a crate and chucked it at the nearest enemies. I succeeded in hitting two, but the rest managed to dodge and taunted me by dancing around my ears. Pushing away the sound, I tossed the last two crates at them all, and killed all but one, still daring to even consider flying close to me. With a simple swat, I took it down, and the force field was removed.

"Did I mention I hate bees?" I muttered to Chip.

"Yes. Twice, actually…"

The next area looked like an abandoned outside restaurant, with tables, chairs, and crates scattered about. There was even a stage where people had probably once performed! Chip was interested in it for some reason, and started dancing to faint music coming from somewhere. I had to chuckle.

After pulled a switch and getting to higher ground, we headed up a spiral staircase. Naturally, it only went so far, but with my were-hog skills-and those convenient bars- I swung over to an otherwise unreachable area, colleting a total of 15 rings on the way.

"I see the Goal Ring!" I cheered, slightly in song. It was five buildings away, and there was no way I could jump the large gaps-even with a dash.

"Hey! Hitch a ride on that flying guy!" Chip suggested. Flying Pests appeared, along with the red floating creatures from earlier.

__

Though I don't think they wanted to help me out…

I grabbed onto the Pest, using it to swing myself to the other side. The moment I landed, I was hit with a blast of red…something.

"Whoa…that burns!" I howled. "Was that…acid?"

The red thing, which will be forever known as a…well, I'll think of a catchy name later. For the time being I just clawed it down and finished it off in the same move. Feeling my arm, I noticed it had burned off some fur!

"Better be more careful next time…"

I searched for another Pest to swing on, but there wasn't any, and two more Acid Monsters were shooting at me! In one dive, I ducked under the projectiles…and slid off the roof.

"Sonic! Where'd you go?" Chip instantly panicked.

"I'm fine!" I called, surveying my surroundings. Both exits were blocked off by a gate, and the only way to go was up a pole. I could hear Chip whimpering and floating about, and he yelped when he saw me reappear on the next roof and take down the monsters.

"There you are!"

"Yes…"

He happily floated next to my side as I gathered some rings, healing the wound from the acid.

"I think I can make it across now…"

Chip put on a look of horror. "You wouldn't!"

"Yee-hah!"

I burst forward, dashing onto the next two roofs and sprinting toward the one with the Goal Ring. I had just missed the edge, and Chip let out a squeak. I double-jumped to save my fall, rolled, and collided with the Goal Ring. I struck a pose and smirked to Chip.

"How do you like that huh?"

Chip wasn't sure how to respond to my daredevil move, until he suddenly grinned.

"I told you you're still the same on the inside!"

I stared over the city. "I don't doubt it, but I just can't shake this…weird feeling!"

Chip pulled out a chocolate bar. "Well Were-hog or hedgehog, everyone likes chocolate!"

I caved in and broke off a piece. "Yeah…I know a love of chocolate won't ever change, that's for sure!"

Chip tore off a hunk too. "Just another part of your strong personality! Trust me Sonic-just because you've changed outside, doesn't mean you've changed inside!"

__

If only Amy Rose knew that…then maybe I wouldn't be so unsure about it.


	13. Trail of Terror and Traps

Unleashing Sonic- Story Mode

Chip and I were back on the road again, heading down another lightly lit street.

"Why in the world are there spikes in a street?" I absent-mindedly asked while jumping over them.

"Good question."

Chip tried to investigate, but I stretched over and pulled him up the stairs.

"No time to figure it out- we've gotta get moving!"

"What's the rush?" chattered Chip, up some stairs.

"I just remembered if we finish in Spagonia, then we can get to Holoska before the sun sets!"

"Well-wait Sonic!"

I stopped, sending Chip flying again-man he's light! - and realized we were in the area where Tails and Chip had picked me up to go to Mazuri.

_But that wasn't why Chip had me stop._

The purple-pink force field had us trapped, and a pack of rhinos started running at us.

"These guys again huh?" I scoffed. "They're too easy!"

With three simple swipes the weak rhinos had dropped. Just when I thought the battle was over, the bees showed up and instantly went to work causing me pain. I stretched over, snagged a crate-with an occasional yelp of pain- and hit a bee with it, sending it flying into a wall. The bees attacking me backed off-but I certainly wasn't showing any mercy! Scooping up another one, they remaining insects fell before the might of the crate.

"Who would've thought?" Chip wondered. "These must be some heavy duty crates!"

"Well they _do_ come in handy!" I agreed, tossing another from one hand to the next. Suddenly, I was on the ground being punched senselessly. I attempted to grab whatever was on my back, but it was twisting both my arms-I now think they went numb after that… Chip quickly came to the rescue by blinding it with a flash from his camera, and the rhino toppled off my back.

"Is it just me, or are these things getting more aggressive?" questioned Chip.

"Dunno…" I responded, grabbing the rhino and throwing it against the wall. "…but something tells me these aren't even the worst of it all!"

"Sonic! There's four more!"

Two emerged from the ground in front of me, while two fell from the sky behind me. We had just reached the other end of the area I was trapped in too…

"Well, I'll take care of 'em quick!"

_I sure did!_

I instantly made mincemeat of one, threw one into another then trashed them with a crate, and used a deadly Were-Hammer on the final one. The barrier went down, and we were free to continue. Chip had to whistle.

"8 Seconds!"

I smirked as I started to run down the rest of the alley. "Sweet!"

I collected a few rings, and I didn't get far when the force fields went up again, and more enemies appeared to get in my way.

_Are you serious? I can't get a break at night can I?_

I took care of a gang of Pests as fast as I could, but there was about twelve of them closing in on me and ramming into my sides! If only I could've perform a Spin Dash right then!

"Madness, madness, madness!" Chip chanted, floating around. I sighed and battered another one to purple dust. I knew I wasn't finished when the barriers didn't go down, but I managed to snag a 10-Ring before a group of 6 Rhinos surrounded me. I didn't spare them anytime to attack me and just put all my efforts into my swings.

_Attacking with my stretchy arms…I didn't like it. Sure, they were very powerful and useful, but…when I hit an enemy, it felt so random! When I perform a Spin Dash or a Homing Attack, I have a definite destination and always make direct contact. Now…my arms feel like rubber and I'm so not used to being slow that the monsters can dodge my attacks! What kind of a fighter does that make me now?_

When the Rhinos were taken care of, the barrier let up and I was free to pass, for now. I let out a troubled sigh, and I could sense Chip was afraid to ask what was wrong. But at this point, there was too much wrong for me to even handle. I wasn't running away from my problems- I was trying to keep up with them!

_And speaking of trouble…_

More creatures. When would the nightmare end? All I had done was turn a simple corner, and bam- they were there. I don't even think Eggman could pull off so many robots at once!

"Rhino ambush!" screamed Chip, backing away from Rhinos cornering him and pointing at two jumping off a bridge from above. I quickly darted over and saved Chip, then defeated the rest.

"This is one crazy alley…" Chip gulped.

"I know-that's the most monster I've fought in a row yet!" I exclaimed back. "I wonder what'll be next though…"

_Eh, nothing too bad- or at least nothing I can't handle!_

Still curious to what lie ahead, I dashed through a row of rings and turned the corner in the narrow alley. More rings pointed to another straightforward path. Chip and I exchanged glances.

"This is awfully peculiar…why is this a one-way street?" wondered my companion. I shrugged before braking loudly to a stop.

"Why are there spikes in the alley?!"

A nice patch of spikes rest in the alley, and looking up ahead more traps were scattered across the way. I glanced down to see a very large and obvious green button, and cursed myself for not noticing it earlier. I slammed it down, and the spikes were seceded. Unfortunately, this also caused spinning blade traps too cut through the alley. Chip gulped.

"That doesn't look pleasant…"

"No, but I've had worse, that's for sure!"

_Like transforming into a Were-Hog. That's definitely up there on the list._

I double-jumped over a blades going at an insane speed, Chip whimpering just from watching it despite the fact he could fly over-I had to work to get past. I groaned when another barrier flew up as soon as I landed.

"Great! I just hope there's no bees or flying things…"

In another unfortunate stroke of bad luck, Flying Pests and Bees hovered my way.

"I think you jinxed it!" Chip stated simply, with the slightest hint of smugness in his voice. "Glad it wasn't _me_ this time!"

I didn't have a comeback, so I just focused all my attention on not getting sliced, slapped or stung- the tragic 3 S's. finally with a bit of luck on my side, I noticed two crates beside me.

"Oh yeah!"

I grabbed one, threw it, but either missed horribly or they dodged it, because it went sailing into another blade not far off and was shredded in half.

"AW…NO!"

The monsters saw their chances to attack and forced me against the wall, and I was just grateful that there was no blade clipping my fur. My blue-grey fist smashed into a Pest, causing a few of the creatures to back off. Once I could move freely again, I picked up the other crate and threw it with improved precision. All Bees were finished off, and the one Pest I hit collapsed, but once more still fluttered around, and I was out of ammo.

"Okay…c'mon Sonic! Pull something clever off!"

I charged at the Pest, hoping to take it by surprise, but it managed to take me by surprise instead and I nearly ran face first into a by-passing blade.

_The miracle I pulled off was not having my face shaved right off._

Angered, or at least frustrated and slightly embarrassed, I raised my hands into the air, them glowing a light yellow.

"ARGH!"

I slammed down, coming full force on the Pest with every ounce of power I had mustered up. It turned into dust, and the force field remained no longer. After working past the second blade, I told Chip it was safe to follow again. As I waited for him to catch up, I snagged two 10-rings to heal a few wounds.

"…I'm at a loss for words…" he whined. I started to dash.

"Why?"

"I'm not really sure! But…just watching everything you're throwing yourself against is making me feel uneasy…"

I threw my head back and laughed. Not at him, more like at what he said.

_Ah, it felt so good…_

"What's so funny?"

"Heh heh, nothing really-"

"That was not a "nothing really" laugh, you know…"

I just chuckled again. "You're all worried about me jumping over blades, taking out a few brutes, and simply pulling risky moves! That's child's play compared to what I usual do!"

"Yeah, but I'm not you, and normal people don't do that kind of stuff. I don't even know if a regular somebody could even do anything like that!"

I had stopped to think about that.

_Even as a Were-hog, I was still pretty tough, wasn't I? Sure, it wasn't as mind-blowing or incredible as I can at full-effort, but Chip was right! Normal people couldn't do anything like this! Here I was, Sonic the Hedgehog, doing the impossible even as a nighttime side-effect was hindering me!_

I continued to run, a smile finally curving up on my grey muzzle. "Yeah…you're right Chip!"

"Yeah I- wait, what?"

Chip remained confused as I jumped into another "monster trap" Bees coming at me at full force along with a mysterious purple witch.

_What bewildered him even more was that I was about to enjoy it._

Three bees, one witch. Bees were very annoying, but the witch proved to be more threatening, so I decided to get rid of the witch first. I knew it was pretty agile and had cat-like reflexes, so I charged at it and made it dizzy so it couldn't escape while I attacked.

"Right hook! Left hook! Ooh, uppercut!"

It was a bam, bam, POW fest until it became undizzy again and whapped me with it staff on the head. I grabbed it, now daze, and just barely avoided a blast of magic it aimed at me. Apparently the Bees were in on the plan, because I stumbled into their awaiting stingers and staggered forward with a loud howl. Chip cringed and looked away. I felt my teeth suddenly bare before I jumped into the air and performed the same attack on the witch that I used on the Pest. It knocked it out of commission, and I could finally get rid of the stinging sensation on my back.

"Hi-YARGH!"

I twisted around, hitting all three unsuspecting ungodly insects, forcing them to collide with the wall. Seizing my chance, I pounded and punched until they were no more. When the fields went down, I danced around and cheered. Chip just floated back to my side with a face twisted up in confusion.

"Wow- what got into you?" he wondered. I smirked.

"Let's just say I had a bit of inspiration…"

_It was him, all in all, and I wanted to thank him for it. But it was much more fun watching him float around wondering what improved my mood._

I had a feeling we were reaching the end, so I hurried through a row of coins and ended up at a place that apparently should have had spikes, but strangely were hidden. Shrugging it off, I simply ran over them and came to a heavy door that I couldn't open, even with my stronger-than-Knuckles strength.

"Grrr-arh…it won't open!"

"you could try pushing this button!" suggested Chip, hovering over another large, green and ominous switch. I stepped on it, and all the spikes instantly flashed up, almost trapping me where I was.

"That was helpful!"

Chip just grinned sheepishly and flew out of the way. Shaking my head and sighing, I hip-hopped over and between spikes, being extra careful not to mess up and/ or trip while jumping. When I landed safely on the other end, another razor blade whizzed past my foot. I jumped back and yelped in surprise.

"When did that get here?!"

_Sometimes you just can't trust a button._

I had to be fast- which usually wouldn't be a problem- because two blades would come at me from the opposite directions. I dashed forward the moment they disappeared into the wall, then double-jumped over an on-coming on a few feet away. I just ran away from the death trap, stopping not too far away.

"What am I supposed to do? I can't open that door…"

"This might be me asking for an angry outburst, but I think the button turned on this platform too…" Chip pointed out, returning to show me a levitating slab behind me and taking cover.

"Bingo!"

"WAAAAHH-oh, you're not mad…"

"It's not like its your fault the button summoned the traps you know…" I told him while jumping onto the platform, then landing on some footing jetting out of the wall. "After all, it's getting me closer to the Goal!"

A wave of relief washed completely over Chip's face, and it happened so fast I had to chuckle. I made my way to a "jetting-out" pole, reaching my arm over and grabbing onto it. As I launched myself to the next one, I could see a 5-Ring and the switch that probably opened the door.

"Goal Ring, here I come!

My excitement made me almost miss the final pole and the last platform, but I didn't mind. With a "hup!", I landed perfectly on the button and opened the door.

"All right!"

I did a flip off the side, returning to the area in front of the door and bing- there was the goal Ring, big as life.

"Whoo-hoo! I survive the trail of terror!"

And with those words, I felt myself grow a bit stronger. More power for me, baby!

_But the oddest feeling was it felt like more dark energy was pulsing through me…and for a brief moment, I considered that Dark Gaia's powers were making me tougher- and THAT wasn't a very comforting feeling. Who wants to be semi-controlled by an incomplete dark god?_

I cringed, once again pushing the dark feeling away.

"You DO know there's one last area, right?"

My positive attitude stayed intact.

"Yeah, I know! Let's go!"

I took off under the bridge the door led to, the full moon and Spagonian buildings a fantastic sight. Chip's eyes were begging to jump right out of their sockets.

"W-Wait…you're excited for more nighttime?"

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder.

_Truth was, nighttime wasn't **that** bad…but I'm still not telling him that._

"Of course not-I'm just excited to get through this night and headed to a bright, sunny day in Holoska! And probably some sleep too…"

And I took off again, fur flying wild in the wind.


	14. A Moment off the Leash

Unleashing Sonic- Story Mode

The final part of Spagonia started with me climbing up a pole to get to higher ground. I wasn't intimidated by it anymore- that wasn't like me anyway. I leapt off, landing on top of a bridge.

"This is definitely different!" Might be a good place to run in the morning!"

Right before I moved, a Symbol Barrier appeared far on the other side, meaning I would have to hunt down light keys without taking a nosedive off the edge.

_This could be fun!_

I wove around pillars, collecting rings as I went. I nearly slid off the edge, but luckily a Flying Pest appeared before I fell and I saved myself. Smirking slightly, I made my way to the other side where I was ambushed- and yet, it didn't take me by surprise. The moment I saw the force field shoot up, I threw my fist out and clonked a Pest before it knew what hit him. Now that I was a lot stronger, I took out the Pests with two punches each!

"Now THAT was a piece of cake!"

"Good job Sonic!" Chip cheered. "It seemed like you took those things out a lot easier this time around!"

"Yeah…" I trailed, recalling and refeeling the dark energy surging through me. "This just can't be natural!"

Nevertheless, I glanced over my shoulder to see more Flying Pests appear to help me reach the other side. Oddly convenient, but I'm not questioning it. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a Light Key on a ledge while swinging over the abyss with the first Pest. It was just past where I had leapt off from. This was going to take some special maneuvering.

_My specialty!_

I let go of the first Pest, then took a daring stretch to a second one. Just as I grabbed it, the third one that would take me to the ledge headed off in the other direction.

"Let's really test these arms…" I stated smugly. My ungloved hand zoomed toward the third Pest, and Chip's eyes bugged out- along with mine. Personally, it was kinda cool, but would my arm stretch forever? Even I'm not that daring to try THAT stunt. That'd be one stretch too far…

"Got'cha!"

Now that I was safely latched to the Pest, I let go of the other one and swooped over the giant gap in t he bridge. Chip shielded his eyes, but once again, he had nothing to worry about. I jumped onto the ledge with the Light Key the moment I was close enough to reach it and grabbed right back on-I wasn't missing it this time around! The swing back gave me another chance to witness Spagonia's massive size.

"It's so incredible…" I breathed.

"I'll say!" chirped Chip, somehow appearing on my shoulder and snapped a photo. My grip slipped, but thank rings I did not fall.

"When did you-"

"You must've been too wrapped up in your entertainment to notice me on your shoulder!"

"You were there when I stretched over?"

"Yup!"

_…that guy is like a ghost…_

Instead of straining my brain to figure out just how he pulled it off, I allowed him to stay and landed back on solid ground. I spotted the barrier just up ahead, and figured the final two Light Keys were either both on the part above or one was by it and the other was above. My seconds guess was proven right when Chip saw the second Light Key behind a iron gate. Problem was, there was no way to get to it…or was there?

"Ledge." I muttered, climbing onto it and preparing to inch myself across. "Don't. Say. A. Word Chip…"

Chip grinned sheepishly, but stayed true to his word and kept quiet. I took a deep breath, told myself not to look down (not that I was afraid), and starting making my way over. I managed to make it across without taking a dive, thankfully.

"Good job Chip!"

"I didn't do anything though…"

"That's why I said that. Very helpful."

Chip scratched his head, but held back onto my fur when I sharply turned the corner, finding the second Light Key easily.

"Two down, one to go…" I noted. "See anywhere to check next?"

"That might be a good clue!" Chip pointed out, referring to a platform lowering just for me. I pondered it for a moment, but something told me it just didn't feel right.

"No, no…we won't check that out just yet. Let's explore the area a bit more."

Chip shrugged, and I dashed down what remained of the lower level. I followed a path of rings leading me to a pole that slid downward.

"This seems promising!" I chuckled, sliding down it simultaneously.

Chip started to cheer. "Whoo hoo!"

When we reached the bottom, we found the Light Key and I couldn't help but smirk. I reached over, pulled it into my grasp, and spun it around on my finger.

"That was cool!"

"How did you know it wasn't up there?"

I shrugged. "Just a hunch I suppose…"

An unexpected force hit me in the head, but I could tell it reeled back thanks to my quills. Snapping back into reality, I found out nabbing that last piece was a bit too easy- and five Pests were enough to prove me right. I cracked my knuckles.

"Time to try a new move I just though of three seconds ago!" I announced. Chip face dropped. I snickered. Nevertheless, I clamped my two palms together to make one giant fist, and then I twirled into all five Pests so fast, it was like I was hitting them all at once! POW, BAM, CRACK…I guess I was too much for them, because they fainted quite quickly. Chip and I just exchanged glances before I cracked a smile.

"I'm so using that again!"

"Yeah!"

So I climbed back up, then took a pole not too far away from the other one. Just like that, the Barrier was three dashes away!

I burst out in happiness and speed. "All right!"

The closer I got to the wall of energy, the more the symbol in the middle seemed to fade. Once I was right in front of it, it shattered, and the roadblock was finally out of the way. Taking a few steps to peek over the edge, there was my favorite sight.

"Goal Ring!"

_Okay, second favorite sight. Chili Dogs are a pretty good first._

"Too easy! Piece of cake!"

My voice echoed as I dove off the edge, surprise at how simple this last part was. Unfortunately for me, I didn't notice the random rings scattered about, which obviously indicated a battle. Chip gulped.

"This wont be good…"

The very second I landed, a force field prevented me from reach the Goal and a green Witch surrounded by 7 Pests appeared.

_Nothing can be simple, can it?_

I knew the Witch would be able to summon more Pests if I took them all out, so it was wise to defeat the strongest one first. Still, I couldn't resist slashing forward and making all the enemies dizzy in my aftermath, including the witch. I jumped into the air, the world going slow motion around me. I suddenly jetted my hand forward and grabbed onto the witch's robe, flipping it over my head and flat onto the ground. Not sparing a second, I violently pounded powerful fists into its torso, not showing any mercy!

_I was running on full adrenaline!_

I tossed it aside, too weak to even prop itself up. It collapsed a lot sooner than I had thought, and I had pondered why as I used my previous tactic to defeated all 7 Pests. I did a stylish flip into the Goal Ring, striking a very smug pose.

"How do you like that, huh?"

Chip just floated over, mouth agape.

"You just critical killed that Witch!" he guffawed.

"That explains it. I love critical hits!"

"I never seen such a bashing in my life…not that I'd remember."

_His memories. I keep forgetting they're forgotten…_

Forgetting his dilemma, he found another piece of a fragment and danced in the air.

"Another tablet for us!" he sang. "Holoska's next on the list."

"Ah, finally! Daytime…"

"Maybe somebody there knows me…let's go Sonic!"

And he flitted down the rest of the road, leaving me to ponder.

"Huh. Guess he didn't briefly forget after all…"

-------

On our way back to Pickle's Place to get Tails to fly us to Holoska, we ended up finding the source of the faint music playing earlier. A group of people were dancing, but it just felt so strange…

"Yeah! Check me out!" "This so much fun!" "I'm boogying down!" "I love it!" "Ahahahaha!"

There was one face in the crowd I didn't expect to see.

_Amy Rose._

"HEY! What's the big idea?!" she screeched. She was being forced to dance with the Assistant, but to me, it just wasn't right! They all seemed so different…

"Heh heh! Come on, babe! Let's dance the night away!"

"Ack, help!"

_Yeah, I was certainly gonna help all right. As much as I wanted to go after the guy, it still felt like it wasn't his fault…_

"Whoa…is there some kind of party going on?" Chip questioned. I cocked my head, finally saying what I was thinking.

"No…something's not right here."

Still, Chip decided to take party pictures, the first being of the Assistant and Amy. Before I told him not even to think about it, the bright flash of light must've weaken the dark monster within, because all the creatures possessing the townspeople emerged, leaving the "partiers" limp on the road and Amy spinning uncontrollably away. The monsters spotted us and charged without hesitation.

_Naturally, my first thought was to help Amy before anything, but the thought of her still not knowing who I was tugged at my heart. Besides, those things were approaching fast! If I was Sonic the Hedgehog, I'd dash to save Amy and still have the same nature-and speed- to trash the monsters. Oh well. I still have to deal with it…_

"It's a carnival of creeps out there!" Chip wailed as I rushed right back at the oncoming threat.

Just four main Rhinos, though they lacked the usual horn. Still, it wouldn't be too hard to take them down. As I performed the save moves I used on the Witch on a random monster, I suddenly realized something.

_One of these monsters was with Amy._

That lit my fuse, and my fists were like fireworks exploding onto jaws, torsos, shoulders, and several other places. I grabbed one and chucked it into another- both sent toppling into a wall after colliding with a nearby table. One tried to use a sneak attack on me, but I was really getting used to those. My arm snapped back to grab what was trying to attack me and flipped it onto the ground, bursting into Unleashed Mode and going nuts. Chip flinched when the blue aura suddenly flashed around me.

_No holding back this time._

The Rhino was defeated in a fourth of what it usually took, and the same went for the two I forced into the table/wall. The final one manage to land a strike on me, but I made him sorry for even thinking about it. With a loud snarl, I plowed my fist into the side of its head. It wailed on the way down, dissolving into Gaia Energy. My unleashed moment wore off, and I didn't feel like myself. I cringed, trying to find myself again.

_Nighttime does that to people._

I grabbed my head and groaned. "Ugh, what did I just do?"

"D-Don't ask me! I was too terrified to look!" admitted Chip. I let out a breath and shook my head. No time to worry about that now- someone needed me…

The Assistant sat up, along with the other people he was with.

"Wh-what was I just doing?"

As they got themselves together, I picked up Amy who had collapsed after her shake up. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was soft. Her standing was stable, so I knew she'd be fine. She slowly turned around to see her savior, but I let out a grunt, hid my face, and rushed off, letting my arms be my legs. I furiously grabbed anything sticking out of buildings and pulled myself to one another.

"Hey! Wait up!"

I had left Chip, but I just wanted to get out of there as fast as a Werehog possibly could. In the brief flash I was in sight, I was pretty shocked to see how swiftly I moved. Disappearing around the corner, I wasn't looking back.

_For some reason, I just didn't want Amy to be by me. It made me uncomfortable…_

Chip turned back and forth at where I had once been to Amy. He gave a small shrug and flew off, wishing he was as fast as I was. Amy was left standing there, one golden-bracelet hand reaching out, wishing I had waited.

"Just now…was that…Sonic?" she wondered aloud.

_I had left before I realized she knew._

"Ah! That should calm things down a bit around here…" Professor Pickle deduced, strolling up to the pink hedgehog. "Chalk another one up for Sonic."

"You know Sonic?!" Amy gasped.

"Of course! He was just here a moment ago."

"Tell me…" she quivered. "What's happened to him?! Please, tell me everything you know!"

She grabbed his hand and dragged him off, as he happy babbled about doing it over a plate of sandwiches…

-----

We arrived at Pickle's Lab, surprisingly Tails sitting alone going over some new battle tech or something. He jumped with a small yelp at our sudden presence.

"Oh- hi Sonic! You scared me, you know!"

I chuckled as a retort. "I could tell by your shriek of terror!"

Tails and I shared a laugh as Chip eagerly buzzed around.

"Hey? Where's the professor?" he wondered. "I wanted to ask him for more of that tea!"

"He heard that his assistant was acting up in town again, so he went to investigate," Tails explained. "I hope everything's going all right…"

Chip and I exchanged glances.

_Well, the assistant was all right now, at least…_

Either I was really eager to see the sun again, or I really wanted to get out of the same city as Amy, but I anxiously motioned for Tails to come on.

"Come Tails! We need to head to Holoska!"

Fortunately for me, I had built up a very Day-Eager reputation with Tails, so he didn't question my intentions.

"Okay! I just woke up from a nap, so I'm all ready to go! I was just observing a few schematics of the Tornado…"

I couldn't help but smirk. "That certainly isn't surprising, little buddy!"

"I know right?"

Chip took a quick bite of chocolate to see if it would get rid of his tea craving, and then we all raced out the door to the Tornado. I was actually feeling really excited- obviously because it would be daytime, but I wasn't even minding the Werehog moments anymore-as much!

_If I thought they were hard now, I had it coming in Chun-Nan…_

_-----_

Amy burst through the doors of Pickle's Lab, gasping in disappointment.

"Aw…Sonic isn't here! You said he'd be here!"

"Quite right. He and Tails must've taken off for Holoska already…" Pickle deduced. Amy groaned again.

"Holoska?! That's a whole other continent! How am I supposed to follow Sonic and Tails there?"

"They will be returning to my lab once they've gathered the necessary tablets, so I suppose you could wait here for them!"

Amy sighed and slumped into a chair. "Fine, I guess…"

Pickle strolled up to her, suddenly carrying something behind his back. "now, don't be glum! Sonic rushes through Daytime pretty quickly! Now, while you wait…"

He brought his arms around, holding out a silver platter of cucumber sandwiches.

"Would you like a sandwich?"

* * *

**I can't believe this game's been out a year already. Seems like just yesterday...oh well- here's an early chapter as a birthday gift! 11-18**


	15. 1000 Feet High Yet Falling

Unleashing Sonic- Story Mode

Apparently the sun was on the verge of rising when we left, because we had only been flying for a few minutes when I transformed back. Man…it felt like years since I've been myself!

_And that dark aura wasn't flowing through me now…_

Tails and Chip gave me looks like they were expecting me to start my rant- which slightly irritated me- but I just stood proudly on the back of the plane, allowing Chip my usual spot on the wing. The dawn's break disappeared quite fast, and the more northeast we went, the more "time passed". Eventually it was like it was noon out!

"All this day and night traveling is really messing up my sense of time…" I muttered. "Honestly, it went from dawn to midday?"

"Well we are traveling eastward Sonic…time's gradually going to get later!" Tails pointed out.

"I _knew_ that…I'm just saying its hard to keep track of it all!"

"Noon?! That means lunch time!" cheered Chip. "Is it odd that I'm in the mood for a cucumber sandwich?"

Tails pulled one out from a secret compartment. "Here you go! I packed some for all of us!"

I made a face. "I hate cucumbers though…"

"I know-I packed you a Chili Dog instead!"

He tossed said food over his shoulder, and I let out a whistle. "All right Tails! Ya sure know how to keep me happy!"

_Though I couldn't see it, I knew he had a proud grin on his face. Little things like that were what kept his motivation going…_

As Chip and I ate, I stared at the sky, the clouds, occasionally the ground since I wasn't dangling over a cliff…and it was odd to look and see a continent suddenly jet out of the planet like that. I didn't want too view that sight and focused my gaze at the clear blue sky and the light wind caressing my face. I spread my arms out and took in the paradise.

_It was just like old times…way back when it was just me, Tails, and a little red bi-plane…_

"Well, Sonic? Feels pretty good to fly like this?" Tails asked, as if he was day dreaming about the same thing. I gave a simple shrug.

"Not too shabby!"

"It's just like-"

He was cut off from saying the exact thing I was thinking with an unpleasant sight up ahead. "W-What's the approaching?!"

"Don't you have a radar or something?!" instantly panicked Chip, taking cover from whatever approaching "threat" was flying out of the clouds. I squinted my eyes to see they were the shape of Eggman Robots.

_Finally something interesting!_

I was probably the only thrilled one. "Here comes the parade!"

Tails' worries tone twisted into a confident attitude. "I've got this one Sonic! Remember the "adjustments" I made to the Tornado back in Mazuri and the schematics I was looking at?"

"Yeah…"

He grinned and pressed a button.

"Tornado…Battle Mode…Engaged!"

_This definitely wasn't the same plane I knew and remembered._

The propeller in the front transformed into a normal plane nose, the wheels pulled in, and the wings pushed out and twisted in the shape of an X. My eyes just bugged out in amazement- even though this _was_ Tails who pulled it off, but I can't help but be proud of the kid. Even the part I was standing on turned into a targeting/launching…thing!

"Ready Sonic?"

"Bring it on!"

_I was interested to test the bad boy out!_

"Here we go!"

A newly added power rocket blaster roared to life, jetting out fire in a gradient from orange to blue. One moment we were drifting softly, next moment were jerking and spinning across the sky. I, who was used to suddenly jerking forward, was surprised at the new burst of speed and felt my casual grip tighten instantly.

"You totally tricked this thing out!" was all I could get out.

Tails laughed. "Thanks! It wasn't too hard actually…"

A laser suddenly whizzed past our heads, and Tails rapidly started to explain.

"Sonic! You're in control of our missiles! Keep an eye on the tracking system and make sure you land every hit! But don't fire too much-you'll lose power. The Tornado can't be fixed while operating, so please be very careful!"

"No pressure there!" I snorted.

"Sorry for the sudden explanation…"

"S'okay. Probably nothing I can't handle anyway!"

I was all excited to blast a robot, but none came our way at first!

_It was like a warship taking a cruise down a river!_

I got impatient, tapping my foot and rolling my eyes around until a projectile nearly skinned my arm! I gulped and got back in focus.

"Okay, stay intent…"

Using the tracking system, I first locked onto the robot, then hit the launching button. Two shots brought it down. I could hear it "neeeeyoooowwww!" on the way down!

"Knew it'd be a piece of cake!" I exclaimed, smiling smugly and showing no mercy on three more mechanical monsters. More came my way, and I took care of every one. It was like one of those arcade shooting games, only cooler!

"On your left!"

BAM! Explosion!

"Got it!"

Tails kept a steady hand on the wheel, and I made sure I didn't accidentally launch at the wrong things. The plane suddenly shook from the strike's impact. Tails groaned as inertia caused him to lean forward, and I briefly lost my balance.

"Three more! Get them Sonic! Hurry!"

I stuck my tongue out on the side as I planned my precision. "Just keep her steady Tails…"

The second they came into my crosshairs I fired, blasting all three with one hit! More robots noticed what had happened and shot missiles at the wings. Now I gulped as Tails grinned. He sharply turned to the right and the Tornado spun perfectly around and dodged every bullet. I gave him a quick pat on the back for praise-I still didn't want to take my eyes off the robot armada. They were too easy to take care of…It was almost like they were in set positions to lead us somewhere…

_I knew it was too good to be true._

Even so, I blasted them to pieces and Tails just kept heading toward their direction so I could free the skies of Eggman's intentions. After a few more dodgy tricks and fighting maneuvers, the sky instantly cleared up- but a shadow suddenly befell the plane. The clouds became more abundant, and they had a dark hue to them. Chip poked out of his hiding spot and looked around.

"Is it safe yet?"

"I don't think so Chip…" I replied. Chip gave a nod and returned to safety. I brought down a few more Sky-Bots before Tails began to bring the plane up.

"Ugh…I can't see past these clouds!" he announced. "I've gotta get to higher ground!"

"Where the heck did these clouds even come from?" I wondered aloud. "It was a clear day not even 5 minutes ago!"

Tails shrugged, and once he thought he was high enough, began to descend to get the plane level. I happened to glance over the side and see a giant gold machine rise under us.

"Wh-What is that thing?!" I cried.

"I don't think I wanna know!" wailed Chip from wherever he was.

"Nweah ha ha haha!"

Eggman. What did he want now?

_Beside me knocked out of the sky?_

"Well, Sonic! Prepare to be sunk!" I heard him shout. His little robot assistant added something too.

_"Remember Doctor, it is not yet complete. Handle it gently."_ he warned over the intercom.

"Argh, silence!"

Tails quickly typed in something on a pad of letters and numbers to the side of his battle screen. He read his results and cringed.

"Looks like we've gotta beat that thing to get by!"

"Go! Fire all weapons!"

His weapons turned out to be blood-thirsty heat-seeking missiles. They were fast, but naturally I was faster! Each projectile was brought down yours truly!

"Remember Sonic, Eggman said the Egg Cauldron isn't complete, so you should be able to blast it down with ease!"

I winked. "You'd better believe it Tails!"

As Eggman reloaded all his cannons and launchers, I fired a few of mine and did severe dents to the cauldron. The cauldron slowly went to the left and tried to trick us like that. Tails continued to follow and I shot anything that came our way.

"Go! Fire all weapons again!"

Tails saw something and shrieked.

"Barrage! Hang on tight Sonic!"

"No need to tell me twice!"

Tails spun the Tornado again, using the previous trick to avoid any more damage other than a small scratch. Then I countered with twice as much fire power.

"Argh! Why you fidgety little…"

He ordered for another assault, and with the combination of Tails and I, we were unstoppable! He dodged ones that were out of my shooting range, and I'd fire at ones that were coming head on. We both contributed to thrashing Eggman's little toy.

"Urgh, the state is critical…"

"We're on the verge of beating him!"

"Let's finishing cracking this egg carton!"

Tails nodded and just flew straight at the Egg Cauldron. I removed any flying threats so I had a clear shot at the center. Eggman ordered all weapons to target me as a last resort. I glanced down at Tails.

"Get ready to do some expert maneuvering!"

Tails gave a nod. "I'll do my best!"

He swerved down so suddenly, I felt my footing get lost and I was suddenly dangling in the air. Somehow still managing to hit the launch button, I knocked out the remaining of Eggman's creations. Tails jerked right to avoid a missile; I flew with him. He twisted around and I spun with the plane. I held on for dear life and had to talk through my teeth.

"Take it easy Tails! It's like you're trying to toss me off!"

I noticed Tails' ears droop as he said. "Sorry Sonic. Got carried away, I suppose…"

_Aw man- I hurt his feelings…_

Tails slowed down just enough so I could get a grip with my feet again, then he turned to aim dead center at the Egg Cauldron.

"Hit him now, Sonic!"

With one final hit, the Egg Cauldron functioning began to plummet.

"Further combat inadvisable, Doctor…" gulped Ergo.

"Huh? Energy levels dropping? Grah! What a disaster! Retreat!"

The Egg Cauldron plummeted out of the sky, Tails gave a cheer, I snickered, and Chip flew out and floated around us.

"That was cool! We should do that again sometime!"

"Don't jinx it Sonic…" Chip groaned. I just shrugged. I couldn't help if I thought it was interesting. We parted out of the clouds, and below us was a vast valley of snow and ice.

"Yay! We made it Sonic!" cheered Tails.

"I'm just glad we made it in one piece!"

"Now all we have to do is find the town that guards the Gaia Gate!"

As we flew through Holoska, the snow went from light and fluffy to heavy and slightly painful. Chip took cover in his secret compartment as Tails and I shielded our eyes. After that, the plane started to fly all funny and Tails instantly cried out.

"What's the matter Tails?"

"Eggman made a small hole in the part that covers the important parts, and with the temperature dropping by the second out here, everything's freezing up!"

"What!?"

"I can't fly the Tornado anymore in this cold- if I keep going, I'll permanently freeze the inside of the plane- except the engine, but it can't work without anything else..."

Chip threw in, "Well, what can we do?"

"I can go back to Spagonia and wait until the storm passes by repairing the hole, but that'll delay you two! Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Oh- Uh, nothing…it's probably a bad idea anyway…"

I cocked my head. "Any idea from you Tails can't be bad…"

He scratched the back of his ear. "Well, you two could jump off and find the Gaia Gate on foot and I'd be sure to return to come get you after everything's fixed…"

"But won't you get lost in the storm?"

"No, if I go back, the engine should start to function like normal again. Please Sonic, you and Chip go on ahead without me!"

I stayed where I was. "You 100% sure about this little buddy?"

"Of course Sonic! Now go!"

"Right. Let's go Chip!"

"Wait, wha-"

I grabbed Chip's hand and jumped off the side of the Bi-Plane. As Tails fought against the storm to turn around, I glanced over my shoulder to see it transform out of battle mode and back to normal. He gave me one last wave before he jetted off.

"Are you sure we should have done this Sonic?!" Chip wailed. I kept staring as Tails flew away into the distance.

"Yeah…we'll be fine. It's just Tails I'm worried about…"

_I can't believe Chip bought it. I perfectly understood why he needed to go back, and that he could get back, but I was still worried about how we were going to make it out of the storm…_

Oh well. No time to dwell on that- we had to get going! Chip hopped on my back -avoiding spikes- and I started to run, snow flying out from under my feet. We were going to make it, and all I had to do was believe that.


	16. Of Snow, Sleds, and Whales

Unleashing Sonic- Story Mode

The sky was a grey-blue, the wind was rapid, and snow kept getting in my unusually large eyes. I constantly blinked as I ran, going only as fast as Chip could fly- yet I was still ahead of him. He had been complaining about the cold, the pain, and how hungry he was, but no matter how many times I said I couldn't do anything about it, he still rambled. Eventually I couldn't take it and drowned him out. My arms stuck out behind me, and the only body parts moving were my legs, one foot in front of the other. I had a destination, and nothing was going to distract me…except if Chip suddenly stopped flying.

"Huh?" I jumped, then braked to a stop, forming a small pile of snow. Chip landed on the ground, face looking like he couldn't go any further. I walked up to him and gave a simple "hm?"

He looked up at me and placed one hand on his stomach and groaned.

_He was still hungry. Of course._

He suddenly remembered he carried an unlimited amount of chocolate bars and eagerly pulled one out.

"Ta-da!" he cheered, striking a pose by holding up the chocolate and his tongue dangling out. He swished it into his mouth, and bit down on solid, frozen chocolate as hard and firm as steel. He stayed like that for three seconds, then threw the chocolate in the air, screamed, and grabbed his teeth and flew around in pain. I caught the chocolate as Chip was still spinning in agony. He zipped off, and I raised an eyebrow at the frozen treat before me…

_"It can't be that hard!"_

I knocked on it; it made a "clang!" noise.

"Whoa!"

I pulled it away from my mouth; I sure didn't want to end up like Chip!

"AAaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh-"

"Chip, get a grip!"

"But it _huuuuuuurts_! Ow! Yeeaaawwwwwooo!"

"Put some snow on the pain to numb it or something!"

Chip swooped down and stuffed about two snowballs worth of snow in his mouth. I just sighed and hurried off.

"Let's go Chip. I can tell we're at the edge of the storm!"

Chip nodded and floated at my side once more. My words slowly started to come true as the snow's force died down, and the skies became a clear blue once more. I smiled as Chip swallowed the snow.

"Well that was odd!"

"Yeah and now we know Tails can come back with no problems!"

Then the sun came out…and I remembered it was Daytime…

My smile morphed into a smirk- which was a warning sign for Chip.

"Let's make this interesting!"

"Okay then! I'm climbing back onto your back for safety!" Chip announced, doing said action.

"This'll be cool!"

"More like cold…"

I started picking up speed, getting my running feel back. Nights were really taking a toll on me!

_I had a need for speed, baby!_

"Here we…GO!"

The ground beneath my feet wasn't necessarily ground at all-more like ice. I had to be extra careful with my footing or else I'd end up slipping. But I hit a Boost Pad and my increased my speed anyway. Running was worth the risk.

_Ah, nothing more stress-relieving than a good run!_

I crashed into ice and bull-dozed them over like broken tower, letting the speed take me away. The moment I did, my toe stubbed something pain-strikingly sharp. I grabbed my foot and glanced down- spike ball.

"Okay, that hurt…"

_Gotta run it off…_

I made sure to keep an eye out for anymore before curling into a ball and Spin Dashing an approaching robot. Great, the challenge had arrived! I struck a split-second pose before thrusting into the next one; this time I pulled off a 360-like trick. I chained two more, then continued the sprint.

"Time for a little Sonic Speed!"

Chip's grip increased to "dear-life" mode. I Sonic boosted, just about flying through rings and barreling over robots like they weren't even there, their parts falling into the snow. I was really glad I had started to run faster, because the land ended and I was running on…water…

_The most important thing I tell myself when I'm running on water is to _**never**_ panic. Otherwise I'll flip out and try to get back to land, my sped will drop, and I'm stuck in a substance that I can't swim in. It's a disaster really. Just keep going forward…_

The water run lasted a hot second- I was soon back on snow and dashing over another Boost Pad. Chip was making a weird sound and I looked over my shoulder.

"How f-f-fast can you g-g-go?!"

"Pah! I haven't even broken the sound barrier yet!"

"Oh no."

"Don't worry- I can't when there's ice everywhere anyway!"

Chip sighed in relief; I plowed through more obstacles and ran over a ramp that propelled us into the air. I landed on higher ground and kept running as if I hadn't taken a little air trip. A canon was up ahead, and I gently nudged Chip with my shoulder, telling him to get ready. I waited a few seconds after I stepped in, taking slight time to decide where I wanted to go.

_Then I realized I didn't care and shot myself as high as I could._

"Hi-yah!"

I twirled through two rainbow rings and blasted over another Boost Pad-those were pretty plentiful in Holoska! I went so far I ended up by-passing a place where I should've jumped and started heading downward.

"Gah! You're going to kill us Sonic!" Chip screamed.

I had felt my heart jump, but I certainly didn't think we were going to die! Our lives were "saved" when I bounced off a conveniently placed spring, taking me to the area I had over-shot. I turned my head to a sheepishly grinning Chip.

"You were saying?" I asked, a hint of smugness in my voice.

"Eh, um…let's just say I panicked a bit…"

"Yeah…let's go with that!"

I discarded the moment and spiraled through red rings, taking me to the other side of a gap. Snow crashed in the background, falling off the side of an icy cliff. Unfortunately, that was in the exact direction I was going. I could just see Chip's face instantly fall. I back-up a bit, careful not to slip and lose my grip. Then I jetted forward, my foot pushing off at the very edge of the floating ice.

_If rocks can float, I'm sure ice can too._

I landed again, the faintest sign that the surface was slippery under my shoe. I took a deep breath, then glanced up. Robot. My shortcut. I homed in on it, then boosted myself onto a ramp, sending me to solid (but still slippery) ground. The next area curved slightly, and it reminded me of an over-sized, frozen waterslide. This caused me to grin mischievously.

_I love my risky ideas…_

"GO!" I boomed, a circular wave of sound blasted away from where I once stood. I ran full force, finding the right moment to stop. After a small turn, I quit moving and the combination of inertia, slipperiness, and speed caused me to glide over the ice like a fast sled.

"Aw yeah!"

I leaned to the right so I could gain lost speed from a Boost Pad; then I leaned left and did the same thing. I held my arms out and pretended I was skiing. Once again, I got lost in the speed and enjoyment of it all and swerved into a random object- this time it being a robot I still managed to defeat. I hopelessly tried to regain my balance, but I was fidgeting so much I ended up slipping and falling on my tail.

"What happened Sonic?"

I groaned as I got up. "I did something reckless but enjoyable- nothing new there!"

With one step I was off again at the speed of sound plus two Boost Pads after that.

_Was it my fault I like to have a bit of fun here and there? Yeah, I knew better, but sometimes I just do things because I can, and to me, that's what life is all about. I run even though I don't know where I'm going, and sometimes I don't know when I get there…and I never know when to leave, either. But in my heart, I always know when it's my time to shine! ….or just show off a bit…_

I wove greatly back and forth; snow rose up and curled, fell, and did the same thing on the other side. I ended up in the air once, just missing the edge of the ice bridge and falling into chilling water.

_Makes me shiver just thinking about it- and I'm not talking about the cold part…_

Bonding into the air, continuing on higher ground, and turning robots to scrap were next on my list. Once all the contraptions were taken care of, I noticed an odd…thing they were guarding. Maybe it was lever, a button, some sacred ancient artifact…whatever it was, I couldn't figure it out at first. Suddenly, instinct kicked it and I ran toward a wall, bounced off it, waited until I was right above the thing, then crashed down full force and flattened it into yesterday. I did this twice, and a hidden door revealed the rest of the path.

"Ooog…take it easy Sonic…" trailed Chip, whose head was spinning.

"Sorry 'bout that. Got carried away, I suppose…"

I froze. The exact same words Tails said to me…

_No wonder he was slightly hurt- I ruined the fun he was having driving the plane…_

Man, now I felt all guilty, and my little bro wasn't around so I could apologize. I got awfully quiet, and Chip instantly believed it was his fault again as I started my run back up. Chip was about to ask a question, but I jerked forward over a Boost Pad so suddenly, he let out a squawk instead. Then, next thing I knew, I was on a sled!

"…where the heck did **THAT** come from?!"

I struggled to gain control on my newly found vehicle and Chip climbed into a safer back seat. The sled slid back and forth, crashing into enemies and the wall a few times. I couldn't find anyway to control the thing, so I went to a last resort.

"Lean, Chip, lean!"

We both leaned in opposite directions and rammed into a robot head-on. A turn was coming up so we ended up leaning opposite sides again, thus crashing into the wall. I banged my knee and Chip nearly slammed his head.

"Okay, we need some synchronization!" I announced. "Keep an eye on me, and lean in the direction _I_ lean, okay?"

Chip saluted as an answer. I gave a nod and leaned forward to get the sled moving, Chip following my movement. As soon as we had decent control, we flew over a ramp and into the air. A loud, but high pitched, roar pierced the frozen air, and both Chip and I dropped our jaws.

"WHALE!" Chip…wailed.

"Can they even live in these cold conditions?!" I exclaimed.

"Maybe we should ask Tails when we see him again!"

Tails. Still felt bad…I'd worry about that later, as much as I hated that.

_If you were in my situation, the feelings of a friend far away would come after the fact you're about to crash into a whale on an airborne sled!_

"We're going to hit it! Move Whale!" demanded Chip.

"It's a whale- how are we supposed to avoid it?"

"Maybe I can speak whale to it! ArOOOOGAH-"

"Please…No… I've had an experience or two with whales, and there's two things you need to know. One, they love to chase you or swallow you, and two, they hate being provoked."

The whale turned to face us, then floated just above the surface…it was almost as if he was allowing us to land on him. Even if I could avoid the whale, there was no way we'd make it to the other side of the water… we landed forcibly on the whale, sliding sown its slippery back.

"Shouldn't the blades hurt the whale?" wondered Chip.

"You can only kill a whale with a harpoon or something- I'm sure a little scratch from metal is nothing compared to tha-AAAaaaaAAAH!"

We reached the whale's tail and it flipped us into the air with water droplets surrounding us.

_Very cold, as a matter of fact…and we were extremely high up…_

Good news- we were going to make it back to land. Bad news- it was possible it might've been a crash landing. Chip and I exchanged glances. He screamed in terror, I screamed because it felt like an awesome rollercoaster ride.

"Waaaaaaa-doopmh!" both of us exhaled at the same time. The sled I thought for sure would breakdown with the impact, but it didn't.

"This is one sturdy sled!" I stated.

"Penguins!"

"Huh?"

We blasted through a mountain of snow, it showering over the surrounding penguins. Lucky for us, they enjoyed it and put their flippers up. More and more gathered around the path we were following, and I was afraid we would end up hitting one! We didn't hit any penguins, but we hit a robot or two, and I could've sworn the penguins clapped for us. Once we were out of Penguin Alley, the sled went up and down a few hills, a couple gaps, through some walls, and perfectly straight. Everything was fine until I saw the spike pits.

"Lean up, Chip!"

"Lean up?! How do I do that?!"

"Just, uh, hop in your seat!"

We "leaned upward", causing the sled to jump over the oncoming threat. We strained to do it again for the same reason.

"Huff…leaning up is difficult!"

"I'll say!"

We soared over another ramp, did a few more small hops, road another ramp, and realized that the sled was going to crash into a wall.

"Brace for impact!"

The sled slammed full-force, ejecting us at the last second.

_Maybe I spoke too soon about a heavy duty sled…_

I returned to the ground, and Chip returned to my back and nearly knocked me over. I growled under my breath and took off into a greenish tunnel. I dodged a couple icicles with a Quick Step, and instantly braked the second I was about to fall down a hole. All color drained from my face at the close shave with death.

"Talk above too close!" I exclaimed, back up a few feet and launching myself over it. "Can't believe I didn't see it in time!"

"See? You almost killed us _again_!"

"We weren't going to die the first time, Chip."

"We could've though!"

I ignored him and continued to dodge rocks falling from the ceiling, probably from the echoes of the sounds. I was aimed head-on for one and quickly jumped over it, briefly seeing what was coming up next. The exit of the cave was coming up fast! Avoiding and evading more rock, Chip and I rocketed out of the cave and blasted over more water. A giant snow formation suddenly collapsed from its weight, and it felt strange knowing that Chip and I were the only two living souls to witness that one moment in life.

_This is why people should get out more._

It was mostly water I ran on, with isles of robots and Boost Pads to prevent me from sinking. I was moving so fast…I was one with the wind! Even when I went onto a slab of snow and fell off I never stopped running. And I didn't noticed a set of springs in front of me- those always take me by surprise.

"Hey! It's the whale again!" Chip cried, pointing at the unmissable sea creature. I had no choice but to run on it, and just when I though he'd let me get to the other side, he blew water out his blowhole and sent me into the air. Chip yelped again, but I remained calm. The whale opened its mouth to screech as if to say, "Good Luck!" and I couldn't be upset at him for blasting me into the air.

"I hope were getting closer to the town…" groaned Chip as I stomped down on the button I landed on.

"Don't worry Chip; we'll find it!"

"Maybe they'll have unfrozen chocolate…"

I chuckles as the hidden door opened, leaded us in the right direction. Sprinting onto a Boost Pad, the ground suddenly curled up into a steep ram of snow and sent me upward. I saw a rainbow ring behind me, but I didn't feel like going the extra mile to get to it and simply let gravity do its job. I fell downward, then used my new ability to smash through some ice and bounce off a spring. After that, I just let go of it all and just ran for fun- while still paying attention. It was a perfect day, and I wanted to live it to the fullest!

_I forgot that I was saving the planet, trying to get somewhere, and stopping Eggman. It's been an age since I ran for myself. It was one adventure after another! Eggman had some space plan, and I collected all the Chaos Emeralds only to have them dulled and me transformed…it was time I broke away from all that, even if just for a moment._

I was floating on air (literally), breaking down walls (of ice), bouncing off springs, and running without a care in the world. Man, I sure was feeling good! I ran into a loop, then a curve, and I snaked through the rest of Holoska. Unstable ice was there, I was there, then it was gone -then I was gone, via spring. I ended up in another sled, but at least I knew how to control it this time. Spikes were scattered everywhere, but I avoided them easily. Mines were thrown into the mix, and I was extra careful not to hit those. I was in the air several times-always landing on a robot, and simply steering away from the edges at extreme speeds!

_It was so relaxing…and no one but me would be able to understand that wonderful feeling._

I hit a rather large ramp; sending me flying over a rather large gap and making a rather large jump. I knew we'd make it, but what I didn't know was that the sled flew out from under me and the town was up ahead. I smirked to Chip, now flying beside me.

"You couldn't do better than that! That was sweet!"

Chip sighed in defeat with a smile. We gave each a wink and raced off into our next destination…


	17. That Cool, Cool Edge

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

It was a pretty small town, igloos scattered around and only one family's worth of people. It wasn't surprising, after all, since it was a cold final frontier. Still, there was a Gaia Gate around here somewhere, and it was up to us to ask around and find it!

"Where's a good place to start Chip?" I asked, searching around for someone friendly. Chip looked around too and saw a smiling woman waving to us.

"I say we try her!"

I nodded and headed over.

"Hi there!"

She giggled. "What a funny way to dress! Aren't you cold?"

I shrugged. "Not really. I can handle all kinds of conditions!"

"I should mind my own business, hee hee…by the way, have you seen my husband? I've been looking al over for him! Where could he be?"

I turned to Chip. "Want to find him?"

Chip nodded and instantly flew to an area with wood stacked up.

_How there was wood, aka trees, in Holoska, I'll never know. Maybe it was a pine tree…_

A man was lounging around there, and it sure didn't look like he was working. I tapped his shoulder and he jumped, giving me a stern look.

"Well well! Visitors to our snowy land! That doesn't happen very often! "

"Why are you hiding here?"

He instantly became defensive. "I-I'm not hiding! I just like it here, that's all! Is there anything wrong with that?!"

"Take it easy buddy!"

"Sorry…oh yeah, if you run into a woman named Sarianna, don't tell her where I am!"

I folded my arms. "Why? Is she your wife, by any chance?"

He just gave us a look and sent us on our way. I was so busy pondering the situation that I ran into a little girl. I helped her up and gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry 'bout that. I just got here, and I'm already running around…and into people!"

"That's okay. My name's Marketa. You can ask me _anything_ about our village!"

Chip seized the situation. "Why's there a guy hiding in the lumber yard?"

Marketa smiled. "That must be my dad. My mom is trying to get him to do something he doesn't want to do. My dad's kind of a lazy cat. I feel sorry for him. Don't tell my mom where he is, okay?"

I didn't want to promise her anything, but I said "I'll make sure he doesn't have to do any out of his league!"

We headed to the middle of the village, and we could see Sarianna still looking for her husband.

"Do we tell her where he is?" Chip asked.

"We still have to find a way into the Gaia Gate, wherever that is…"

"Maybe that nice woman will tell us if we get her husband to do whatever!"

"All right, but I meant what I said to that little girl!"

We returned to Sarianna, and she filled with hope.

"Have you found my husband?"

"Well-"

"There's a sacred shine in this village. It's been here forever and ever. Ever since the great earthquake, there's been rumors going around about that shrine. I've never seen them myself, but they say there's spooky happenings going on! I really think it should be looked into. I thought about sending my husband…but ever since I told him about it, it's like he vanished!"

_That explains a lot…_

"I bet he's too scared to go and he's hiding! Hmph! Pitiful. Say, I have an idea. Could you go check it out for me?"

Chip and I exchanged grins before I replied to her. "Just leave it to us!"

She thanked us and handed over the continent's sun tablet, thus opening the way into the shrine.

"Good luck!" she called.

-----

We entered the shrine, and I simultaneously transformed into my night form. I groaned and looked myself over.

"What gives?!"

"It IS pretty dark in here, Sonic…you'll return back to normal once we get outside!" deduced Chip, flying up to the Sun Door and opening it. I dashed through it, and it turned out Chip was right after all.

_It's odd how temples can be so bright or so shadowy that they can transform me too._

"Hm. At least I'm me! So let's…GO!"

My feet started moving, only to dash into a sled.

"Where do these keep coming from?"

"I don't know, but they're fun! Whoo hoo!" cheered Chip.

We leaned right and left to hit all the sets of Boost Pads and gain full speed. The sled swerved at incredible speed, and I thought for sure Chip was going to fly off. The sled flew off an edge, then landed back in the snow with a slight crash. I felt a shockwave rocket through my body from the aftermath. The terrain turned bumpy as hills of snow took shape and we sailed right over them. Then, a sharp bend was coming up.

"Lean! Lean!"

"I'm trying!"

Both Chip and I grunted as we leaned to the left, skidding around the bend and blasting off with a Boost Pad. Just as everything settled down, we were launched high into the air again. Back down, Chip flew forward and crashed into my shoulder.

"Ow! Careful Chip!"

"That wasn't my fault-"

"URGH!"

The sled slammed into a mound of ice that literally came out of nowhere. We stopped on the spot, heads spinning.

"No wonder I never got a sledder's license…" I moaned.

_No wonder they tell you to never ride vehicles with two people…_

I got off, pushed the sled out of the way of the ice, then Sonic Boosted and jumped back on. Too bad that was the worst time to go fast- another turn was on the way, and there was no protection from falling off. I didn't bother yelling at Chip to lean; I improvised by shoving him to the right. The blades of the sled skimmed the very edge of the snow, and I was praying with all my might we wouldn't end up in the water. Once we were past that, I pushed off with my foot to gain more speed, since I was sure we wouldn't need to turn again. I let go of the breath I was holding in.

"Okay, it can't get much worse, right?"

_Wrong._

Ice shards just about shave my head clear off, falling from the sky and spearing into the ground. Chip and I frantically leaned and turned and even braked a few times to avoid the death from above.

"They won't stop coming down!" Chip cried, jumping away from another one. I looked ahead and found some cover.

"We're heading into that cave! Lean forward!"

Chip made no complaint this time and leaned in said direction. The sled moved faster and sped into the cave as an ice shard blocked the way out.

"Aw, GREAT!"

As I cursed, we rammed into icicles, slid over a Boost Pad, and collected a few rings. The sled began to swerve again, and I was having trouble keeping it under control.

"Why is this so difficult to drive!?"

It gained a mind of its own, the snow vehicle being only manipulated by pure speed.

_I couldn't help the excessive amount of Boost Pads Holoska had._

The pads jerked us left, right, left, and right again, and I felt like a ping-pong ball being battered to and fro. After we broke out of that, we had "lean up" to avoid spike pits. Chip moaned every time we landed and jumped. Then, the snow went downhill. I shielded my eyes from the ice we shattered, and next thing I knew, the sled exploded upon contact with a ramp and I was twirling through loops.

"Wa-hoo hoo!"

I stayed airborne for a moment, then started grinding on a blue rail. I missed my jump to another one, and I was slightly irritated so I boosted myself forward. Adding that with a Boost Pad, I was moving so fast I curled into a ball and rolled down the spiraling "snowcase". I hit a spring, spin dashed a robot, and took off on my feet again.

_Sure beat the sled._

I ran up the side of ice, eagerly watching the grind rail beckoning to me next to me. I smirked and jumped onto it, grinding the rest of the way down. I leapt off at the last moment, made a V-turn, and sprinted over collapsing ice. On the safer side, everything seemed to slow down (except me) as a purple aura seemed to light up the snow. It dimmed down, and I (literally) hit a dead end.

"Ow…"

I peeled myself off the frozen wall and realized two cubes of ice were blocking the way down.

"Get ready Chip!"

Jumping up, I did a flip, raised my fist and stuck my foot out aimed downwards.

"Ye-ah!"

Ice was no more as it shattered under the might of my leg strength- or just because it wasn't very stable. I went with the first option. I found another grind rail and jetted forward with it, making a turn, hitting a spring, and rocketing down on two unsuspecting robots. Veering to the right and sliding under a small crack in the ice, more ice was clogging the way down. I smashed them again, and continued on my way. I ended up on a slab of ice, with me jumping off the second it collapsed. While in the air, I targeted a robot and took it out.

"Sonic Boost!"

My feet were hardly touching the ground! The Boost Pad forced me forward into a spring, causing me to fly into another area. Chip scooped up some snow in a cone and stuck pieces of chocolate in it. I raised an eyebrow.

"…what? I'm hungry!"

"A chocolate snow cone?"

"Don't knock it 'til you try it!"

As he ate his new snack, I just shook my head and raced deeper into the cave. The path descended, and Chip's snow cone flew into his face. He blinked, then licked it all off.

"Still tasty!"

Lit torches lined the next cavern, along with robots that don't exist anymore thanks to me. I Sonic Boosted over a Boost Pad, returning to ball form and running around the equivalent of a Green Hill Zone loop.

"YEAH!"

Shortly after that, I found myself in the air again, and I really wasn't sure how I got there either… but I was back down again after breaking through more ice. I fell onto a Boost Pad, and I started unintentionally running. I had to skid around the turn, so the moment I stopped I wouldn't lose momentum. It was hard to do that, and dodge anything harmful lying in the way. After nearly colliding with robots and ice, I returned back to running and hurried over another falling ice bridge. I skid around another bend and over a Boost Pad. The end was getting closer, I could always tell.

_Of course, I didn't want it to be over._

I broke a robot, then broke a ice seal that it was guarding. I fell into the lower regions of what started as one simple cave, amazed at how big and wide it was getting.

"Who would've thought?"

As soon as I set foot on solid ground, a missile whizzed past my ear. I ducked and jumped around two more. I destroyed the robot sending them off, then had a Boost Pad send me over another ice bridge. Chip pulled out the frozen chocolate bar, shocked to see it was still frozen! He held it away from his body.

"I don't think I wanna eat this one…"

I glanced ahead, then grinned. "Hey…hand it to me!"

Chip shrugged and tossed it over. "I don't know why you want it, especially when I can't even eat it!"

I prepared to chucked. "Just watch!"

I aimed the chocolate at a robot guarding another ice seal, then threw the chocolate as hard as I could. To Chip's surprise, the chocolate cut the robot into two halves, and even shattered the ice beneath.

"Now that's a choco-cut bar!" Chip gasped. I chuckled and ran into the new opening. The chocolate was resting in the snow without a scratch. I picked it up and smirked.

"You want it back?"

"After you destroy a robot with it? Think about what it could do to my teeth!"

_Or what it already _did_ to his teeth._

I simply stuck the chocolate in my quills; if it thawed out, I'd surely eat it. I pushed onward, only to end up on a strange ice platform that, well, moved. My footing was askew and it didn't help that ice under me wasn't stable as it was. I fell, my snout landed hard against the ice- and robots were advancing upon me.

"Chip! The chocolate!" I called, throwing him my soon-to-be snack. He grabbed it, then used it to take out all the enemies.

"This thing isn't so evil after all!" he announced, helping me up. I threw him onto my back, jumped up, and took off into the air, making it to the edge of the ice. It titled downward under my weight, and I felt myself start to slide toward the edge.

"Neyah!"

I pushed off the ice, trying to jump again, but the frictionless factor set me back and I could only grab onto the solid edge.

_This was one of those very rare times I wished I was a Werehog._

I struggled to keep my grip, my gloves slipping with every passing second. It would've been easier to hang on if Chip wasn't on my back, but I was the one who put him there in the first place, so it wouldn't be fair to yell at him. Then, the ice platform slowly started to come back up again, now balancing out since I wasn't there to hold it down. Eventually, I could feel it bump again my feet, and I was able to jump over the ledge and return to solid ground once more. I flopped helplessly into the snow.

"I think we made it harder than it needed to be, eh?"

"We?!"

I ran away from that area, going from 0 to 60 in 3.5. I ran into a narrow cavern, also decorated with torches for light. Once I got out of that, I entered a room with high stone walls…that were closing in on me! I made sure Chip was hanging on tight before I Sonic Boosted three times; the walls threatening to crush us in-between. I made a daring jump out, only to end up rolling down another hall. I stood up and took off, not letting the minor setback hinder my progress. I jumped off the ledge and landed stylishly on a grind rail, doing a massive curve and avoiding a pack of robots entirely.

_Grinding has its advantages!_

The air got colder in another cavern, and I could see my breath when I exhaled to jump. Pulling off an Action Chain of robots, I found another grind rail and did a colossal loop.

"Way past cool!"

I ran off that and through a set of Boost Pads- my "ending senses" becoming stronger. Turns out they were right, because I sprinted over a wooden bridge into a shrine-ish area with the Goal Ring.

_Strange how I'm never eager to find the Goal Ring in the Daytime._

"Ha-HA! That sure gave me a cool edge!" I exclaimed happily. Chip hovered around, as if he was hunting down something. He then saw something shiny covered in the snow and cheered.

"Eureka!" he cried, pulling a tablet fragment adorned with a red jewel. My jaw dropped.

"We found the tablet already?" I complained. "I feel like we just got here!"

Chip held it in front of my face. "C'mon Sonic! Now that we have a tablet fragment, isn't it about time to go see the professor?"

"Yeah…but we have to wait for Tails, remember?" I pointed out.

"Oh…right…"

We returned to the main Holoska town, where everybody was happy that we helped out. Chip and I were slightly put down. Me, because we had done it so fantastically, and fast, and Chip because he was hungry and we had no way of getting back to Spagonia. Both of us were upset because if we took off on foot again, we still couldn't get anywhere because the planet was broken apart. I fell back in the snow as Chip attempted to gnaw on the frozen chocolate. I stared up into the Holoskian clouds, the puffy whiteness half blocking out what little sunlight the continent had.

_I was kind of like a cloud. We both love freedom, we both go where the wind take us, and we could whip up one heck of a storm if we needed to._

I smiled to myself, but the clouds reminded me of the sky, then the Tornado, and then Tails. Did he make it back okay? Was the plane even repairable? And…would he even come back? Of course he would. He told me to trust him, and I did. But if he didn't return soon, night would fall…and I didn't even want to _think_ about that!

"Chip, what happens if we're stranded here?" I asked, speaking my mind. Yeah, I was the one usually thinking on the good side, but my question wasn't really negative either. I was just thinking practically. Chip stopped trying to pry a hunk off the chocolate and turned to me.

"Why would you think that?"

"It's not wrong to worry about Tails, right? But he can take of himself, right? That doesn't mean nothing will go wrong either…"

"He'll come, Sonic, he'll come…"

For another unknown reason, I knew Chip was right. He was hardly ever wrong!


	18. Surprises and ChunNan's Bad Vibes

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Midday slowly turned to around 5 o'clock. Still daytime, but getting darker. I had fallen asleep in the snow, catching up on all the missed sleep from my Spagonian adventure. Marketa had taken Chip into her home, fed him, and kept him warm. The falling snow gave me a "blanket of snow", and surprisingly I wasn't cold. Maybe I had gotten used to the temperature or something…

_I could've just been wrapped up in the dream I was having._

I dreamt about Tails and Amy, and how I had ran away from them, yelled at them, and just wanted to avoid them completely. But that was only when I was a Werehog. I had no gloves to cover my deadly claws, no smirk to hide my fangs, no ability to fight off the evil forcibly injected inside of me. I don't know how Eggman managed to pulled that off with the Chaos Emeralds, but he sure wasn't going to get away with it. The one time I need to fend off evil the most, it had to be inside of me, where I was unable to fight it.

_My sleeping face cringed in the snow._

The dream continued, me going mad and howling to the moon in pain. At first, I thought it was just some personality of mine that was sealed away. But after seeing people in Apotos and Spagonia at night, I figured out that everyone has a light side and dark side- just some show it more than others, since Tails and Amy haven't transformed or changed personalities…but if I deeply thought about it, my personality didn't change at night- just the outlook.

_But why? Why was that? Sure, I felt like I was supposed to be cruel and mean at night, and sometimes I lost control, but I could've been like the professor's assistant or the ice cream man…_

The comforting thought soothed me, and the horrid nightmare twisted back into a pleasant dream, the moon setting and the sun taking its toll on my were-body. I changed back, power still flowing through me, but a pleasant one, and Chip and I ran into the sunrise…I smiled in my sleep, happy the curse had been removed from my mind.

And yet…something still interrupted the dream, like the sound of a little propeller and a young boy's call…

Chip and I were running on a road in a very busy city, one full of skyscrapers and cars here and there. Tails pulled up behind us, the propeller twice as loud as it should've been.

"Sonic!" Tails had called. "I'm here, Sonic!"

Why was his voice so loud?

"Sonic, wake up…"

My eyes flew open, and there was Tails, staring at me and trying to help me up. I yelped and jumped back.

"Whoa, Tails! You scared me!"

"Sorry. You were really into that dream you were having!"

_Eh…that was embarrassing…_

"I managed to get the Tornado back all right! When I made it back to Spagonia, I used a piece of heavy tinfoil to fix the hole! But then I entered the Professor's Lab to tell him I would be back soon, and well…you'll be surprised to see someone there, is basically what I'm trying to say."

I blinked. "Is it night in Spagonia?"

"By the time we fly back it will be…"

"Darn it. Aw well…"

Tails jumped into the plane and started it back up. "Let's go Sonic! Spagonia awaits!"

I stood up and yawned. "All right-I have to go grab Chip first…"

He made a slight face as he replied, "Oh yeah…" in a very blunt and dull tone. I wondered what got into him as I found Chip and Marketa playing tag.

"C'mon Chip! Tails is here!"

"Aw, he has to go?' Marketa sighed, quickly grabbing Chip and hugging him.

"Don't worry- we'll be back soon! But most likely at nighttime…"

Marketa looked down at Chip and whimpered. "Okay…as long as its before my bedtime though…"

She released Chip, and he floated back to my side. We waved good-bye and I led Chip to the Tornado. Tails was waiting, a bit impatiently, and allowed me to climb on the wing. He made Chip stay in the other seat instead of on the wing next to me.

"you okay Tails?" I asked cautiously. Tails gave a stiff nod.

"Yeah, yeah…I'm probably just as tired as you were…"

"But you were perfectly fine when you first arrived!"

Tails said nothing. He just turned the plane around and took back off into the sky. The trip back was awfully quiet. I hadn't said a word about transforming back into a Werehog, Tails wasn't going on about Dark Gaia, the Tornado, or Professor Pickle, and Chip didn't rant about food.

_I suspected Marketa fed him well._

I then recalled Tails feeling down in Mazuri, and wondered if his attitude had anything to do with what he had meant way back then.

"Anything you want to talk about Tails?"

_Maybe he would've if I wasn't a Werehog…_

Tails' intent stare melted slightly, but froze back up as he slid a glance at Chip, hanging his head out the side of his seat.

"…not right now…maybe later…"

"Mmm, all right then…"

I stopped prying; he wasn't going to break anyway. I kicked back on the plane wing and watched as the sun continued to set…

----

Upon arriving in Spagonia, Tails was eager to return to Pickles' lab, and was even trying to pull me.

"C'mon Sonic!"

"Is there an antidote for this Were-form of mine?"

"Um, no…"

"Then what's the rush?"

When we reached the door of the lab, Tails wanted me to open it for whatever reason. I shrugged and pulled it open, and there was Amy, sitting sadly in a chair while Pickle ate a few cucumber sandwiches. My heart stopped again.

_Here I am, in the front door as the Werehog that scared her off-and she barely knows I was the one who saved her from the possessed people._

I prepared the turn around and run for my life when Amy stood up and calmly walked toward me.

"Sonic?"

I froze. What was I going to do…

"Sonic!" she tackled me into the wall with a hug. "Even if you change your look, you're still Sonic to me! I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you right away…"

"Don't take it too hard. I wouldn't recognize myself right away either…"

Amy wouldn't let go. "The professor told me all about what had happened to you! I can't believe you're suffering so much! Oh, I wish there was something I could do…I just feel so bad! I bet I didn't help how you feel by freaking out like that…"

_This was true. But I wasn't going to tell her _that_…_

I pried her away from me and placed a hand on her shoulder- without scratching her.

"It's fine Amy, honestly."

Professor Pickle was the one to change the subject. "Your quest to open temple doors is moving along, I see…my analysis of available data has uncovered the location of another temple. The data indicates the next temple is in Chun-Nan. As usual, ask the people there about what you need to know. Sonic, time is of the essence! You must precede forth ward to Chun-Nan!"

"I'll stay here to help the professor," Amy explained. "Stop by anytime, Sonic!"

"No problem!"

**Back at the Tornado-**

Tails somehow beat Chip and I to the plane, as he was sitting in the pilot's seat, one arm behind his head and the other twirling a wrench around. I told Chip to stay where he was, and I approached Tails.

"Feel like talking now?" I called up to him. His voice quivered.

"N-No…"

"If you want me to ask why not, I'm not going to. I respect whatever reason you have for not telling me yet. You do it on your time, but I'll always have time for you…"

Tails' eyes flashed for a brief second as I motioned to Chip to climb aboard. He started to sit next to me on the wing, but then glanced at Tails and returned to the passenger's seat. Tails was lost in thought for a moment, then squeezed his eyes shut and started up the plane.

"Next stop, Chun-Nan…"

_Chun-Nan…was it just me, or did it have a very bad vibe to its name?_

_-----_

It was nighttime also in Chun-Nan, which actually didn't surprise me. Tails landed near the entry gate. Chip and I hopped off, eager to get started. Before I took off, I turned to Tails.

"What're you going to do?"

Tails shrugged. "Same thing I usually do. Plus I have to paint over the aluminum hole so it flows with the rest of the plane."

I scratched my head. "That seems awfully simple…and we'll be gone for a long time, after all."

Tails waved his hand. "You and Chap go get a tablet or two; I'll be fine!"

"His name is Chip, you know…."

_Okay, it probably wasn't Chip, but it certainly wasn't Chap either._

Tails looked hurt for a brief moment, but he still refused to talk to me so I just sighed and headed into town. After asking around, we discovered the elder of the village was missing from a few people involved in the search. Chip and I joined in too, and ended up running into an older man in a place just south of the resteraunt.

"Come to visit the village? Unfortunately, your timing is terrible. With the disappearance of the village elder, the village is a whirlwind of activity."

_I almost thought it _was_ him…_

"Can I be of help?"

"Ohoho. You poor fellas seem to have a talent for finding trouble. That's how I like our men! …but our village elder may be in too deep. You can help find the elder, though."

"That's what I meant…"

"Oh. Well, go ask Shulian for details."

I gave a thumbs up and headed to where Shulian was. He explained about a Gaia Gate not too far from where we were.

"Not that again!" Chip and I simultaneously groaned.

"All I know is that we've checked everywhere else we can think of! Thanks for looking for the elder. Oh, and if you find him, give him this."

He gave us the continent's moon tablet, which unlocked the nighttime part of the temple.

----

After a long hike up a slightly steep mountain, we entered Chun-Nan's Gaia Shrine.

"This must be the sacred shrine the villagers were talking about!" Chip exclaimed. "We have to find the village elder, and fast!"

Instead of arguing with his obvious logic, I started to sniff around the shrine that looked like it was built for an emperor. No one was in there but us, and the glowing blue door was beckoning to me again. I had no choice but to follow, and Chip opening the door added to the strength of the pull.

"Maybe the elder will be around here…" I guessed, the only positive thought and reason I had for entering the doorway with a good attitude.

* * *

**I swear, I thought this chapter was longer. Now I HAVE to complete the next one before updates become this long inbetween again...the most I've done on this story was a few sentences last week! *frown*. There's still really good things coming up, and I don't want people to walk away. But, I'll put off working on my more popular stories to work on this one and another one of the same status...**


	19. A Marathon of Many Near Deaths

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Not too far from the Gaia Gate, Chip and I were exploring around a building of some sort. It was big, red, and seemingly important. Chip was fascinated by how beautiful it was, while I couldn't shake the bad feeling crawling up my spine.

"Chip…do you just get a really bad feeling about this place?" I asked.

Chip shrugged. "No…"

"Well I do, and it's killing me!"

"Maybe its some new were-hog sense or something!"

_Whatever it was, it was not making me feel very well about Chun-Nan._

I took a deep breath and pressed onward. This leg of our journey began in a deserted part of the village, which a large building completely empty. There was no way inside, so I made my way around the edge- only to instantly meet the first batch of monsters. They were a bunch of Pests, which I disposed of quickly.

_Their pig-bird squeals aggravate me._

The shields went down and I carried on like the fight was nothing. All the battling was becoming second nature to me, and I could always just sense when they were going to pop up. A good example of this would be …

"Right now!" Chip cried. I grabbed a very conveniently placed crate and threw it at the next round of nightmares. The force phased them, allowing me to kill three red rhinos all at once. Two more crept up, but were blinded by Chip's camera flash. My fists flew into the faces, and they flew into the walls, defeated.

"Good job with that!" I told Chip honestly. Chip shrugged casually.

"I just wanted to help!"

The mini conversation got me thinking about something.

"Hey Chip…do you have any idea why Tails could possibly be mad at you?"

Chip blinked. "Why would he be mad? I even gave him chocolate!"

"Every time he sees you, he always has this blank expression. He never wants to come with us anymore, he called you by the wrong name…"

We walked in silence around the rest of the perimeter of the building. I'd occasionally bash an enemy or two, but my thoughts never drifted. I hated to say it, but I was getting worried. Tails usually warmed up to all my new friends- what made Chip any different?

"Sonic!"

"Wha-YAH!"

I was so wrapped up in thinking about Tails, I nearly stepped off the edge of the path and into **water**! Chip grabbed one of my softer spines and attempted to pull me back up.

"Ow ow _ow!" _I shot my arm to the nearest support. "Let go, please!"

Chip grinned sheepishly and backed off, allowing me to pull myself to safety. Now with a chance to observe my surroundings, a large pond was before us…and its water certainly wasn't very comforting.

"There's probably more on the other side…" I decided.

"Well how do we get to the other side?"

I sighed- there was always only one way to get across water.

_Rocks._

"Here I go…"

I carefully jumped onto a mossy rock, hoping not to slip. Next I aimed for a larger surface with a 30-ring on it. It actually wasn't all bad…I was hoping the spikes on my were-shoes would prevent me from slipping into the cold, unforgiving water…and let me tell you- it was difficult. The rocks were covered with wet and slimy moss and it was all I could do not to fall- let alone make it to the other side!

"How can something so simple be so deadly?" I asked myself, finally just reaching for the other side and pulling myself across. Now in safety, it gave me a chance to see what was up ahead. A red bridge with rings led to the next area, and although very comforting, I wasn't at all assured.

_As if on cue- enemies!_

I didn't waste a second- I snapped my arms out and grabbed two Rhinos, then bashed their heads together. I loved doing that for some reason. The others flocking around saw me attacking their kind and charged in also. I crouched down, claws ready to slice, then spun around in a rapid circle, hitting each of the nightmares at least 3 times each. Most of them were left defeated, yet some were sprawled on the ground hanging out for dear life. Chip pulled out his camera and blinded them; I kicked them into the water.

"Is it just me, or was that battle a little cruel?" I asked Chip.

"I dunno-they're nightmares! They're Dark Gaia's creations- show no mercy!"

I shrugged. "I guess…still, I'd rather have robots any day. You don't actually kill the robot-you just destroy it and bash it until it doesn't work anymore! And these Nightmares…" I glanced at the water. "They might be evil, but they were still alive, you know?"

Chip nodded. "You believe life is precious, don't you?"

I smirked. "Of course! It sounds crazy, but I love near-death experiences because I love life…you gotta get the most of it!"

"I wish I could…" Chip laid back and floated next to me as we crossed the boardwalk. "…but I don't even remember my purpose in life! I don't remember what I even did! I don't-"

I placed a hand on Chip's shoulder. "It may seem like life is all about what you've done, but you have to run through this world, go to new horizons…and just don't look back!"

"That's oddly profound, coming from you!"

"Hmph. I tend to have my moments…just trying to cheer you up!"

_I wish I gave myself the same advice…_

When the walkway ended, it was a large gap over crisp, cold water…and the only way across was in the form of two moving poles. I gulped and waited for one to get close, then shot my arm out, latched onto the pole, then hung on for dear life. Wanting to get across as fast as possible, I maneuvered to the next pole then leaped to stable ground. I inched cautiously away from the edge. Chip gave me a weird look, but I just waved it off and led him forward. The path ahead was broken at parts, and a section of the walkway was even half submerged under the water! A flying Pest was ready to take me over a gap not too far ahead. I calmly grabbed onto it, then swung myself over.

_Is it bad to say I trusted a Pest over a pole?_

The second I landed, I started dashing. I don't know what came over me. My addiction to running must've kicked in, because as I dashed, I was seriously craving speed again. Chip was just as confused as I was.

"Why did you just started running out of nowhere?" Chip questioned, doing his best to stay by my side.

"I don't really know…but at least I'm not being interrupted by enemies!"

Now with a little rush, I tore down the path of Chun-Nan that lie before me. I slipped around corners, on account of the fact that I couldn't drift, but I ran. I loved it. Nothing would stop me. Nothing would get in my way. Nothing would-

"Sonic!"

_Speed took over my mind again…_

I didn't see the edge- I wanted to go faster, and this particular spot where the road decided to end caused me to attempted to break but I toppled over the edge anyway. Unintentionally, I howled in agony. I was becoming more and more like a wolf-thing with every passing moment! Couldn't even run…

"SONIC!"

At the last second, as my feet touched the water, my hand shot out again and grabbed onto a pole. My eyes dared to look down, and I winced at the mere thought of being so close to H2O. I hurried to pull myself up and shook off my shoes. Chip eagerly floated over to me and buzzed around like a bee telling me what happened.

"You were enjoying the feeling so much you closed your eyes and tried to drift and you went the wrong way and almost DIED! You could've drowned but I shouted out your name and-"

"Chip, I get it…" I panted. I had to wait until my breathing had slowed before I climbed up the pole.

_Great. Now I owe a pole for saving me from death._

The place we ended up at was the top of the structure- like the fancy building Chip and I saw when we fist arrived. The odd thing was, it look just like the bottom portion, minus the roof qualities.

"Chun-Nan has some interesting architecture…" Chip mused, observing everything.

I just muttered, "I like Apotos way better…"

The two of us carefully continued onward- I definitely didn't want to fall again. Where was the Goal Ring? I prayed it wouldn't be really far away…

"This way Sonic!" called Chip, pointing to an opening of a room or a hall of some sort. I hurried after him, and found it was more like a hall. It was almost sort of cool, if I wanted to take the time to appreciate the small things.

_So much for an excuse to see the world…more like an excuse to _save_ the world, as usual…_

"There's big door over there…but how do we open it?"

Chip was referring to a door on the other side of a long chain of poles, mean for me to use to swung myself across. I shrugged and grabbed onto the first.

"We'll find out when we get there!"

I swung across, in a similar way to crossing monkey bars. However, when I reached the other side, I slammed into a force field that popped out of nowhere and fell into a pit filled with Nightmares. They instantly chirped out and started jumping on me and attacking. Chip briefly blinded them with the camera, and I tossed them all off.

"I probably should've known it couldn't be that easy…"

Rhinos-both blue and red- were approaching me again, snarling and slashing their own claws at me. I jumped up and kicked two in the head, knocking them down. But they were still swarming me.

_Then, it happened again._

My anger spiked. All of my negative feelings from the night were coming together at one point again, despite being triggered by something as minor as an ambush. Chip saw me glowing blue again and scurried off to get out of my reach. The Rhinos exchanged glances before I unleashed my fist into one's chest and sent it flying into a wall.

_It was like when I was fighting the Rhinos who had Amy…_

Pained squeals filled the room after that, also with the sound of me rapidly punching non-stop. My fists crashed down and made contact with the creatures several times. Rhino were being crushed and thrown into each other and there was no time for them to retaliate- I did it for them. The remaining ones tried to run away, but they were boxed in by the shield too. I grabbed a very unfortunate one and started beating on it, growling the entire time. I chucked it into the others, and they all collapsed like bowling pins.

"Pant…pant…your fault…_your fault_…"

Chip cautiously floated back down and tapped my shoulder. The blue aura died instantly and I fell from the sudden lack of power.

"Sonic…are you okay? I know you were angry about something but it just happened so suddenly and-"

"I couldn't hold it in anymore…" I said in a light whisper. "I had to let it out. Just thinking about what could happen in the night, what already happened during night, what IS happening during night…I can't take it. I'm frustrated. Yet, more than half the world still needs to be saved…I really need to be strong…"

"Well, look on the bright side!" my friend replied cheerily, far from what I expected. "Maybe if you learn to unleash your anger at the right times, you can take out the enemies faster!"

"Maybe…but…" I stood back up. "I don't like lashing out like that…"

To my left was an orange switch-probably meant to open the door Chip was talking about. I used my Were-strength to activate it, and what do you know, it did open the door. Behind was the Goal Ring. I was thrilled, but I didn't show it because I knew we were far from done in Chun-Nan. Now, maybe if it was the third Goal Ring in a row and we acquired a tablet, then yeah, I'd be happy.

"Now that incident is going to start nagging me…" I grumbled, shooting my hand up to the nearest pole. "…as if I already don't have enough to mull over…"

This time with no force field in my way, I made it to the other side and jumped through the Goal Ring.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Beyond that Goal Ring was a path that led outside. Chip wasn't sure if he should speak, so he chose an alternative and started nibbling chocolate. I was trying to ease my mind once again, and stared up into the sky. Despite being taken over by Dark Gaia, the purple glow of nighttime was truly beautiful. However, Chun-Nan didn't seem as…magical as Apotos or Spagonia. It just seemed dull to me…

Maybe it was just affected by how I was feeling. Who could tell anymore?

I worked my way down a cliff and onto a road of some sort. I believed it led to a small town. My head poked around the corner of a building. It was quiet…maybe too quiet…

"There's going to be a battle…" I murmured, stepping out. Just as predicted, a force field shot up and two witches materialized out of the ground. When I climbed up to take them on, Rhinos joined their ranks. Hooray. I had wanted to get to the witches first, since they could heal, but the Rhinos running around certainly didn't help much either. I slashed at the Rhinos gathering, but then a witch flew up from behind me and bashed me in the head.

"Not fair!"

Now I had my left hand reaching behind me to try to attack the witch-who teleported- while using the other to bop and beat up the Rhinos. Finally, I realized the witch wasn't even there anymore and successfully dispatched the other nightmares. Said enemy was approaching from my right. My arm shot out to grab her, then I slammed her into the ground. I brought the witch over my head and threw her into the ground again. This continued until she dissolved into darkness, and I went to work on the next set of foes.

"Go Sonic!" Chip called from the sidelines. I gave him a thumbs up then leaped up onto the next part of the path. The other witch was also surrounded by Rhinos, until she sent them to swarm me instead. My health was quickly depleting, as I just realized, and I barely made it to a 30 ring before I was KOed. I did a sweep kick to knock down the Rhinos, followed by performing a Beat Down of the other witch. She had been getting ready to launch a surprise attack, but I countered with a surprise attack of my own! Ha!

_I'm just _so _clever!_

I flipped around to slam her straight into the ground and defeat her, then easily finished off the rhinos with a Wallop. The field went down, and Chip congratulated me. I gave a small smile before dashing off-carefully. I collect a few ring strewn out on a bridge, but that bridge for some twisted reason had a swinging blade of death on it! When it was at its high pint, I rushed under.

"That's like Spagonia having an alley full of spikes!" I yelped. Turning a small corner, there was another blade that I quickly avoided, but running beyond it cause the ground beneath me to fall and reveal a bed of spike. My double jump saved my life, and I glanced over my shoulder and just gawked at it. "What the…"

Chip stared at it too, only able to blink as an answer. "There's really no explanation for this path trying to kill you…"

_I couldn't come up with an explanation either._

"Well, if there's some here, there's bound to be more up ahead!"

Naturally, I was right, and two blades of death were swinging in sync with each other just up ahead. That meant if I ran through at the wrong time, I'd be hit twice as hard as normal. I ran through when they were as far apart from each other as they could get, but they were moving faster, and I just missed having my tail cut off- twice, if you took the double blades into consideration. I started running again, trying to get away from the traps as quick as possible.

_Why did I have to run like a _dog?

My speed helped me leap over a missing bridge, but I crashed into a cliff all the same.

"Urgh…I can't brake, can I?"

_I already knew that in actuality, but_ why_ couldn't I? I was going slower than usual, yet I couldn't stop in time? How do physics apply to that?_

Nevertheless, I stood up and shook it off. I slowly crossed a bridge that was actually there, then jumped toward a pole that stuck out of the water. Up ahead were two moving poles, and that was obviously how I was meant to get across. I waited for the right time, but either I was too impatient or just wanted to stop dangling above water, and I jumped a tad too early. Again, I was half submerged in the water before my stretchy arm grabbed onto the pole and saved me.

"I really need to stop being so…so…"

"radical?" finished Chip.

"Something like that. I just know it starts with 'R'."

_No, it wasn't "rushy" or "rushing". I do that all the time anyway._

I climbed to the top of the pole, and looking forward, I saw a waterfall. That I'd probably have to climb. I gulped. A flying Pest fluttered over to take me to the next destination, and reluctantly I accepted the ride. I swung off, latching onto a pole, then reached for a pole jetting out of a cliff, and finally landed on safe ground again.

_Wouldn't be safe for long…_

The only way to go now was up the waterfall. I gulped again. I collected the few rings that went up the path, as if they were leading me up. I leaped across a gap, narrowly missing the edge, but the claws quickly grabbed the edge before I fell. My heart jumped. Shakily climbing another rock, I shot my arm out to another ledge and pulled myself up.

"You're doing good, Sonic!" Chip exclaimed.

_Until I screw something up._

I was already on a pole, reaching out for the next ledge. Another Pest was hovering around, and nervously I hung onto it.

"Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down…"

I'm not afraid of heights-I** love** heights-I'm afraid of _water_. I can't emphasize it enough! I managed to safely get to the next rock. Was I almost to the top? I didn't want to look up either. Again, more poles were jetting out like monkey bars and I went across them. Another pole. Another bar. Another Pest. I was almost to the top-I could see the water flowing over, at last. Then, the fatal moment. I let go of the Pest to try and get to the second-to-last final rock.

_I fell._

My heart jumped again and I almost panicked. My feet skimmed a rock, but it just sent me sliding toward the pool of water even faster. I tumbled forward- tripping in the air, if you might.

"AUGH!"

I hadn't even hit the water yet and I was terrified. I shielded my eyes-I thought for sure I was going to drown. It wasn't long before I felt the cold splash of liquid surround me, and I was submerged in it.

I mentally told myself, _"No screaming."_

_I had wanted to lash out with rapid cries of "I can't swim! I can't swim! I'm gonna die! AUGH!"_

I messed up. Everyone did at some point in their lives- this wasn't the first time I had done it. But it was definitely a bad time to do it, too. My eyes were closed, bubbles of air emitted out of my mouth, and I was sinking. It was like a game over…until I was saved.

"Sonic? I know I've asked you this several time today, but are you okay? I…I pulled you out! Are you still breathing? Want some chocolate?"

"I'm alive?" I murmured, still dazed from the fall itself. Chip nodded.

"I saved you before you got too deep. You can't swim?"

I made a face and sat up. "…no."

"Oh good-neither can I. If I can swim, I don't remember…

_Again with those memories!_

I looked around- Chip was wet, meaning he couldn't fly, and we were at the top of the waterfall.

"You flew me all the way up here?"

Chip struck a pose. "Yeah! I saved your life! Now we can get back to saving other people!"

_Saving my life wasn't as easy to shrug of as me saving someone else's…but, I was too worn out to start discussing _that.

"That way's blocked, Sonic. It's on fire!"

"Huh?" I hadn't been listening to Chip-after all, I was still I n shock that water hadn't finally done me.. As he said though, there was a small flame blocking the rest of the path. Also, there was a conveniently placed barrel full of water. What were the odds? I scooped up the barrel and gave it a light toss at the fire- it went out easily.

"…piece of cake?"

_Well, it WAS a little too easy._

It led under yet another bridge, but this one was larger than the others. I climbed up using the green edges, only to pull myself up into another battle. Force fields blocked all the exits and naturally Pests and Rhinos came out to play. I used Beat Down on a rhino, simultaneously taking out two Pests at the same time. Then I smashed two Rhino heads again-yay!-, punched another senseless, tossed two more Pests right over the edge, and heaved a Rhino into three others plus a Pest. They were becoming increasingly easier to kill, since all this nighttime experience was strengthening me up.

_Or breaking me down- again, the differences were so blurred at this point I just couldn't tell. I just wanted it to end._

When the force fields fell, I continued on. The Goal Ring was sitting inside the bridge tower, sparkling with all its glory. I entered it, then just sat.

_Everything was starting to come together…my anger, why I messed up a few times…and NOW I knew what was most likely wrong with Tails. Now all this was weighting me down. I wasn't going to unleash it again-I would try my best not to do that- but, if I actually thought about it…well, the answer kinda scared me._

"Hey Chip…"

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking-" very briefly, but I was thinking. "-and I've thought of something. Two things."

Chip sat in midair, eyes wide with wonder. "What's up?"

"The first is…well, let me ask you this: what would you do if, um, I unintentionally replaced you with someone that was fun and energetic and already considered good friend, despite the fact I just met them?" I pondered my statement. "Oh, and you had to witness me and this…other friend having fun several times?"

Chip blinked. "I'd be jealous. Upset. And I think it wasn't fair, especially if this friend just popped out of the blue! I wouldn't even give them chocolate!"

I groaned and put my face in my hands. "Great…"

"But, I'd be okay with it anyway! You're my friend, and even if you made another friend, I'd try to get use to them! And who knows-I might give them chocolate after all!"

"Do you think that could apply to everyone?"

Chip nodded eagerly. I sighed. That was one thing off my chest.

"So…what's the other thing you were thinking about?"

I cringed and pulled my knees up to my chin. "You know how Dark Gaia's influence effects people at night?"

"Well of course! It happens to you, doesn't it?"

_Why'd he have to put it like that?!_

"Yeah…but I wasn't transformed by the mere fact that the sun goes down-I was changed by Eggman when he broke the world apart. I was struck with Dark Gaia energy just as it turned to day! So, just because I also change during the night…doesn't mean when we beat Dark Gaia it'll go away. What if…I'll always be a Were-hog?"

Chip had no response to that one. Neither did I, so I wasn't expecting one. Now with my thoughts free, I was ready to go on.

"Let's go Chip. We're almost there."

I was just praying the rest of Chun-Nan wouldn't be as bad as the first parts…

_Of course I was wrong._

* * *

**So many near deaths for Sonic to emphasize how difficult this stage was. There was no way I was doing 360 version on these levels! O.o (not that i do those for Were-hog anyway, but _man!) _The experience with him falling off the waterfall was based off one of my own...I was so mad I stopped playing for quite a while. DX I had other things to say, but due to a major screw up when uploading this, I had to redit this document from scratch and now I don't remember! Oh well- as soon as we pass Chun-Nan, the chapters should get easier to write and come faster! Hooray!**


	20. Through the Fire and the Flames

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

The bridge led to a road with several curves. I wasn't distracted by my wandering thoughts anymore, but I was still feeling a little down about my low-quality performance in getting this far. I could do so much better-without falling off an edge or slipping off a waterfall. Chip had a completely different take on the situation, pointing out the fact we were actually on the Great Wall of Chun-Nan, the biggest wall in the world.

"How do you know that?" I raised an eyebrow.

"One of the villagers told me-I learn a LOT from them!"

_I don't._

"Well, great wall or not, we'll have to run it…"

And so it began. Looking over the wall, you could see that it went on for quite a long time…maybe in the morning I'd come back and see how fast I can get to the other side, but right now I was hoping the next Tablet wasn't all that far away…

I jumped over an oddly placed gap in the wall- perchance it broke in the earthquake? Probably. Just beyond that was a room-like area, and a green box that I could use to swing myself up. I went straight ahead. There were enemies. Of course. I should have went up…

"RAWGH!"

The monsters seemed to tremble as I suddenly flew in there, arms outstretched and claws bared. One tried to scrambled away, but I grabbed it before it ran off and used it as a murder weapon.

_Not so literal as it sounded, by the way._

Rhinos mainly inhabited the area, which made the job all too easy. I simply had to bonk a red one on the head and it instantly went limp. I snickered- it was almost like whack-a-mole!

"Hmm…"

I bopped another one- it also fell. This was suddenly even easier. My arms stretched and twisted about, like mallets crashing down on unsuspecting heads. Squeals and cries rang out in anguish, but in truth, it was kinda fun to do it that way.

"Bop! Bang! Bash!"

Seconds later I was standing with a cocky expression as the shield fell. I didn't even need to gather up any rings that battle! I grabbed them anyway - one ring was always the different between life and death- and headed on out.

"That was pretty simple!" commented Chip. I shrugged.

"yeah, I know. Still managed to entertain me though, that's for sure…"

"I dunno…seems suspicious!"

"Everything can be suspicious at one point, Chip."

Chip folded his arms and attempted to give me a serious look, which he couldn't quite pull off. "I'm just saying, I feel something dark on the horizon. Just be ready!"

"The only thing dark on the horizon is me when the sun goes down. Nothing bad…er, well, deathly terrible is going to happen!"

"but you remember your bad vibes when you first arrived in Chun-Nan, right?" Chip continued to protest, now sitting on my shoulder. "What if its all related…somehow!"

"then we'll give them some chocolate when we find your dark…thing."

"You're not taking me seriously!"

"I'm hardly ever serious. Serious is so boring!"

Chip's eyes had a sudden gleam dart across. "Well, look at that! Your usual personality sure is spiking right now…"

I blinked. He was right. And what else about Chip…his necklace was glowing again.

"I. Can. Feel. It! I'm not kidding! We've really gotta be careful in this next part! I can't tell how far away it is, or when it'll come, but whatever happens…I sense that you're not going to like it."

"…okay Chip."

_The secret importance of that orb…I hadn't forgotten. I still didn't know what it was, but now if I just stare at it…I can tell it as a load of energy inside!_

Moments later, Chip went back to being casual by pointing out a switch that obviously lowered the bridge before us. I gave it a mighty turn, and more of our path was put into place. We raced across it, yet we didn't get far when actual robots appeared in front of us.

"Whoa, what are those?" gaped Chip. I prepared my fists and darted forward.

"They're going to be nothing but nuts and bolts soon!"

I got a running start to jump to the broken road where the first was standing, but apparently their special ability was blowing things. As I jumped toward it, it suddenly gave off a gust of wind that literally knocked me out of the air. I started to plummet into the abyss, and I could feel Chip starting thinking up a speech of how I died that time-in case I came back. This time around, I was calm, and latched onto the edge before I met my fate. Snapping back up, I kicked the machine that nearly caused my death and knocked it over, seizing my chance for attack. A simple slash of my claws was all it took to put it out of commission.

Chip heaved a sigh of relief. "Whew, that certainly was close…"

The second robot was hardly a threat- I could dispatch it from where I was standing. I made my way to the far part of the road. I almost turned back, just to look at the broken part of the wall from the opposite angle, but then I didn't. I didn't know why- it just didn't seem worth it all of a sudden.

_How weird was that?_

I shrugged it off and kept going on. More of the wall/road was broken off, and all there was to walk on was a very narrow part. I moved over it slowly, praying to Chaos I wouldn't fall, ran as soon as the wall was wider again, and braked just before I flew over another edge. A bigger section of wall was gone, meaning I couldn't just jump, but Chip quickly pointed out that three Flying Pests had appeared.

"I find it really peculiar that they end up helping me in the end…" I murmured, swinging myself along until I was on solid ground again. It was pretty much an enemy free, no obstacle run after that.

_Which made it suspicious._

When I crossed a certain part of the wall, it crumbled beneath my feet and I used the sparing split-second to save myself from falling.

"The world breaking apart must've really done a number on this thing…" I huffed. Chip floated down and petted the stone.

"Shame, too. It must've taken people a really long time to built this- and with such great quality too!"

I stared down too.

_Chip was right- someone had made it, and now because of a combination of Dark Gaia and Eggman, something once strong and unbreakable had now been slowly crumbling, with pieces breaking off one by one…until there was nothing left. Until there wasn't a shard of the original wall left. And what would happen? The people would try to rebuild the wall, but it wouldn't be the same as before. Parts would be, but not all of it._

I jumped from my thoughts. Thinking about the wall was reminding myself or me! There was no way I was going to break and fall apart just because of Eggman- it wasn't like me to go down a negative road. I would not need to be rebuilt, either.

_Yet on the other hand, it was hard to avoid the facts. I was broken- maybe only just a little, but I was definitely chipped somewhere along the line. That hip that had broken off was replaced with what I currently am now- a Werehog. And even if I make it to the end of this journey and I'm not a Werehog anymore, would the piece of my old self come back? Or would what was newly built stick forever._

"Grrr…I really need to stop comparing myself to inanimate and unimportant objects!" I shouted to the sky. Chip gave me a highly quizzical look.

"_What_ are you talking about?"

"I'm probably going insane from all this nighttime- maybe its that moonlight madness and I'm going insane!"

"Um, okay, but I was referring as to how you are comparing yourself to-"

I quickly butted in with, "Oh, uh, that was just thoughts I was talking about…"

"You compare yourself to objects in your thoughts?"

"Maybe!" I snapped back, not really sure why I did in the first place either. "What if it makes me feel better?"

_Or worse._

Chip just blinked. "Um, I guess that's good, but you certainly don't sound good right now…"

I was about to retort, until Chip's green orb started to light again. It floated slightly out before him, pointing to where the section of wall had fallen.

"What the…"

"I think it's telling us to go down!"

I looked around. "Probably- it seems we hit a dead end anyway."

I gave a daring leap downward as Chip flew down behind me. Upon landing, the glow faded out of Chip's orb and we noticed fire blocking possible paths. I instantly started scavenging.

"There must be some water barrels around here somewhere…"

Chip struck a pose. "Like I intelligently point out before!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah."

Said barrel was placed on a ledge to my left, so I jumped up, grabbed it, and chucked it at the farthest fire from where I was.

_My aim was improving greatly! Wait...did I say that already? Well, it WAS true!_

Another one appeared, and I might as well have doused out the other flame. Like a pitcher on a baseball mound, I threw the barrel at those flames and it was an instant strike out. Smirking, I climbed back down to see what I had discovered. One was just a simple cave, while the other was the rest of the way out. I eagerly took the second one. Some bars jetted out of the side of the cliff, which I used to swing my way over. However, I miscalculated my jump and almost missed going over the small fence.

_Okay, maybe parts of my aim were still pretty terrible._

"Now we get to scale a cliff…" I muttered, beginning the trek. "A climb up a waterfall wasn't enough- oh no!"

I made very careful jumps onto rocks that were lined up like stone steps. Looking down was a very dark abyss, and since it didn't seem so appealing I had no intentions of "dropping in".

"We're getting closer, Sonic…" Chip trailed, once the not-as-lethal-as-I-thought climb was over. He held out his orb, which was now lightly flashing. I looked up at him.

"Do you think it's reacting to this "dark vibe" you were talking about?"

"Maybe…the only way to find out for sure is to keep going!"

"Hey! That's my line!" I said playfully, giving Chip a light nudge. We then raced over to another set of climbable cliffs (and with my slowness, Chip was worthy competition) and started making our way up. Chip could fly just as fast as I could stretch my arms, so we were pretty neck-in-neck…until-

_Enemies! Wow, wasn't expecting THEM to appear just as I'm getting into the groove of things…_

Chip attempted to keep racing and ended up crashing into the barrier. Luckily they were nothing but Pest, so I disposed of them rather quickly. As I turned to continued my trek, I was hit over the head with a wand like thing and blasted by magic. Struggling to look over my shoulder, I saw two witches plotting to beat me to a Were-pulp.

"Not you again!" I growled, smiting my fists into their sides. "Can't you leave me alone?"

My anger was building up- I had remembered that the last witches I battled almost did me in! As I fought, I hadn't noticed I was emitting my blue energy again until Chip spoke up.

"Sonic! You can use your power now!" he cried. "But please…stay in control…"

"Stay in control…stay in control…"

I trembled slightly as I unleashed again, still shaking when I brutally attacked the nearest witch. I gave it a taste of a deadly bashing, then beat the other one with a wallop. They struggled to float once more and cast conjure up some more Nightmares, but I wouldn't let them. With one backhand to both of them, they were down for the count.

"Take deep breaths now Sonic…" I heard Chip whisper in my ear. "Let it out slowly…"

I almost lashed out, out of nowhere, but then I held myself back. No way was I going down that road again. I felt myself breathing hard, vibrating all the while, but eventually…it all just melted away. It disappeared. It was gone…for now. I realized I was tense and loosened up a little. Chip broke out into a smile and started dancing around in the air.

"Hooray! You're not going psycho- I mean, not on a rampage…"

I gave Chip a look- he grinned sheepishly back- and I once again started to climb. Chip kicked it into race mode, and once again we were flying up stones labs jetting out of cliffs.

"I'm winning! I'm winning!" Chip cried, zooming up to the top. "**I won**…er, um…you _cheated_ Sonic!"

_I did not cheat. I simply took a shortcut._

I had used my arms to pull me up to higher ground, but I wasn't cheering since I won.

"Sonic…what's up?"

I only pointed forward. Up ahead was a series of circular cliffs, all leading down to a rather giant abyss. There was a large one in the middle, and rings were scattered all around.

"Remember those bad vibes of yours?" I asked cautiously as we made our way over. Chip gave a solemn nod. We stepped on the large center slab when a "club monster" materialized out of the ground. And it did not look happy.

_Remember when I defeated that giant monster way back when I saved Tails? Think that times…well, some really big number. But not necessarily over 9000._

I bared had a chance to gawk when that club instantly knocked over and sent me flying near the edge. I stretched out an arm to redeem myself and stared at the fiend head on. This was going to be interesting.

The Nightmare threw its head back and let out a horrific sound. "ROAR!"

"**Grr!** I can do that too!"

My face was remet with that club. Growling, I charged at the monster and smashed my fits straight into its stomach with a sickening poomph. It staggered, but still managed to smite me with that weapon of his.

_I was getting beaten around like a piñata!_

"Careful Sonic…" Chip whispered quietly. "It's really not that tough- especially since you beaten one before!"

"Chip…you weren't the one fighting!" I hissed, trying to go in for a kick only to be smacked away. I crashed onto the ground, grabbing my head, and that monster still wouldn't show me mercy! My health was depleting quite rapidly, and if I didn't get to fighting back quickly I was going down!

"Ow…" I moaned, swearing something was crushed. I noticed a blur of brown out of the corner of my eye, prompting me to roll away from another massive hit. Again, I went it for a kill but that stupid thing practically backhand me with that club. My head jerked backward and I went flying upward like a firework. Chip cried out while that monster seemed to laugh.

"Laugh at me will you…pound me with a mallet while I'm down…" I snarled, pushing myself up again. "You're not going to get away with this!"

The monster barely gave me a second though- I was on the verge of death (again) anyway. He turned around to finish me off, and boy, he wasn't expecting a bright-blue hued Werehog to come charging straight at him, claw and fangs bared, as if it was chained up for far too long and was just recently unleashed.

Chip cringed and looked away. "Oh no…"

My fists were my clubs, punching away at the fiend. His roars of pain meant nothing- he was going to pay.

"I'm tired of it! Tired of it! Sick of it!" I repeatedly shouted, pounding away my rage, and I had no intentions of stopping. Uppercuts. Left hooks. Right hooks. Wallops. Bashes. Grabbing him and throwing him over my head. Rapidly socking him like he was nothing but a punching bag. He grabbed me and attempted to throw me off the cliff, but I fought back by sinking my teeth into his arm. He howled again, giving me perfect access to his face.

"How's that!" I gave him one finishing punch, sending him falling hard onto the ground. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And the smaller they are…well, they can't really fall at all, can they?"

I landed on my feet snarling, glaring at where the monster fell defeated. He paid.

"Sonic?"

I snapped. The blue power was zapped out of me and my head felt like it went through a high powered vacuum. I felt painstakingly weaker, and those bashes were beginning to take quite the toll.

"Yeah Chip?" I moaned, trying to answer his questioning my name. He floated over and poked me.

"Are you going to claw me?"

"No, and I don't even think I can when I'm battered and bruised!" I attempted to suppress the tone of pain in my voice. I fell forward, me landing on my hands and knees. "Ow…what happened Chip? I lost control…"

"um…yeah."

"But it wasn't just that was it?" I asked myself more than Chip. "Was it self defense? Pure anger? Or was it this evil power lurking in me! ?"

I threw a fist to the nearest wall, groaning in pain afterward. I had made a large crack.

"I've…gotta keep it at bay…I can't let it rule me…" I then frowned. "But I don't think I can…"

Chip started his panicking routine, and I was actually surprised he didn't whip out some chocolate. Instead, he motioned forward toward the Goal Ring, but not even that made me feel better.

"Don't be like this, Sonic! C'mon…we go over there, and we can leave! Maybe there'll be some daytime to run though when we get back!"

"Everyone else gets an opportunity to complain…why can't I?" I growled, still hardly able to move from the thrashing.

"Because that isn't like you, and you know that." Chip said seriously. "If you have caved into Dark Gaia's power already, you'd be like one of those mindless nightmares. You wouldn't even want to run out in broad daylight liker you do now. You know that."

"Chip…can you help me walk? My back hurts again."

Chip gave a nod and assisted me all the way toward the Goal Ring. By the time we got there, which took awhile, with a small dog trying to guide a limping, fuzzy beast, I was feeling a little sore, but at least I wasn't acting like there was a dent in my spine!

_I still felt terrible._

Chip had collected the Tablet, and we went onward. Eventually, we found the village Elder lying on the ground. I jumped down, Chip flying off my head…again. As he got up, I ran to help the man, until a rush of heat nearly singed my fur off! I glanced up- a huge Phoenix raced across the sky, alit in bright flames. It landed and let out a battle cry of a caw.

_I just finished fighting a brainless club wielder within an inch of my life and now a fire bird wants a piece of me. Do I ever get any slack?_

"Bring it on."

The Phoenix gave a mighty roar in response and took off flying about the area before stopping in the center. I charged at it, but it suddenly shot spear-like feathers at me and forcing me to shield my face. When the barrage was over, I jumped onto a platform thing…only to be completely overtaken by a spew of flames.

_My fur instantly ignited!_

"AUGH!"

I rapidly ran around, hoping to blow the flames out, but I think I just made it worse! I dashed into the nearby pond and doused myself, luckily not losing too much fur.

"Oh boy…that was scary!" I gasped. I glanced up at the Phoenix- it was gliding around again. I prayed it wouldn't try to barbecue me again. Then, I hatched an idea. "If I can get water up to it, then its flames might die down like mine did! The question is, how?"

I heard a roar of fire above my head and instantly darted out of the way of another plume.

_Talk about a hot battle…but I apparently couldn't take the heat!_

I jumped onto a platform again, and lo and behold, a container of water sat, waiting for me to chuck it. It was simply pure luck that the monster bird was flying right by me, because it gave me direct access of hitting it. The moment water touched those evil flames, it instantly squawked out and stopped flying briefly. I climbed down, getting ready to strike, but its attention was still purely focused on me and me alone. I jumped to the pond again and ducked- it swooped right over my head, then landed on a nearby platform.

"Perfect!"

Not missing a beat, I rushed over to give it a punching of a life time. It went to strike me with its beak, but my punch was way faster. It reeled back in pain as I dealt a few more blows. It beak went to attack me again, but I grabbed it, held it in place, then struck with a decently placed kick. Somehow, I felt myself fall and landed back in the middle of the pond. I hardly had a second to glance over my shoulder to get a gist of what the Phoenix was planning next- it unleashed a shockwave of wind, ignited itself, then flew around for round 2. I felt my arm randomly, and suddenly pulled back.

"I was…burned? Dang it…"

I poked it again- apparently it would be fine as long as I didn't touch it. It was nothing compared to that acid burn I got during my nighttime Spagonia romp. Shaking it off, the Phoenix was floating by one of the platforms, which in a way, was going to be the death of it. I shot my arm out from where I was, latched onto the edge, then pulled myself over and stylishly flipped onto it. Pain rocketed up my spine, but I ignored it and chucked the barrel of water at the fiend. Its flames went out like a birthday candle, and as I jumped to attack, it suddenly flew to the middle of the pond.

"Are you-" Chip began to say, floating up next to me.

_"Yes_ I'm okay…" I growled back, a bit harsher than I intended. I flew right by him, hurrying to the bird before I missed my attacking chance. I made it just in time to punch the pressure points in its leg, lowering it so I could reach its head. I spun, gave it a punch in the face, followed by doing my "grab beak then kick move". This backfired slightly, because as it threw its head back in pain, it took me with it. Thinking quickly, I stretched my arms down and performed a Were-Hammer in the air, just about bashing its skull.

"This is completely nuts!" I murmured when I landed back on the ground. The Phoenix spun around, alit in flames once more. Here we go again…

"Um, Sonic?" Chip asked, following me as I chased the monstrosity.

"_What?_ Just…stay out of my way, okay?"

"Um…okay…"

He was starting to annoy me- no, he wasn't doing anything wrong, but I need pure focus when I'm in a battle! Otherwise-

"SWEET CHAOS!" I roared as I fell to the ground, submerged in fire. I glared at Chip- one second away from the action, and I was getting pretty close to becoming roasted hedgehog…er, WEREHOG.

_I. Can't. Win. Ever._

I scooted away from Chip, taking another dive in the pond while simultaneously avoiding more sharp feathers preparing to slice me. I felt my own burning desire to finish this overheat and I ended up charging like a bullet toward that Phoenix. I snarled, gritting my teeth against the wind of its wings, struggling to go faster, but obviously I couldn't.

"I'm still trying to fight normally…" I realized aloud. That could be why things were slightly off for me. Just charge in a hope to strike. No. "…I have to go Werehog, don't I?"

_Oh yes._

Taking my mind completely off of Chip panting behind me and my old fighting style, I, for the first time, tried to think like a Werehog.

_Man, was it repulsive!_

Words like "brutal", "merciless", and "beast-like" popped into my head, which made me cringe. But if that's what had to be done then so be it. The Phoenix then flew high into the air, me wondering what it was doing, until my instincts kicked in telling me to jump. As soon as I did, it collided into the ground, sending a shockwave of fire across the ground. Phew, just made it!

"Let's kick it up a notch!" I shouted, firing my arm toward the platform nearest to where the Phoenix was. It attempted to blast more fire, but I veered toward the right, jumped onto the platform, then latched onto its neck. It squalled so loudly I felt my ears press against my head- like I've seen Tails and Rouge's ears do. It took off flying, leaving me dangling just out of reach of its deadly flames.

_Looks like I got too into the Werehog…I forgot to douse the flames…_

Gulping, afraid to let go and afraid to attack, there had to be something I could do. I gave the Phoenix's neck a tug, and like a miracle, it lunged downward. Idea!

"All right, you're under my command now!"

I pulled and leaned toward the right, turning the Phoenix toward one of the platforms…and straight toward a water container. It dove right through it, as I had planned, and ironically doused itself at that. During its screams, I landed on the platform, swung the Phoenix over my head, then slammed it straight into the ground.

I cried out, "Beautiful!" before delivering a package of punches. This monster didn't stand a chance!

I let it go, since it suddenly ignited again, and I ran off. When I thought I was a safe distance away, I turned around, only to find no Phoenix.

"What in the…"

It slammed straight down on me, injuring my back even more. I could hardly move! I glanced around, ready to call for Chip, but then I remembered I told him to stay out of the way…

_Everything always comes back around. Usually it bites you hard in the butt. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise._

Next think I knew, that dreaded Phoenix was spinning around madly in the air, emitting a rather strong tornado-like gust of air! I yelled as I went flying, crashing hard into a platform.

_I would be lucky if I still had a stable skeleton after this! That fall from space was nothing compared to this!_

"Oh man…"

"Are you okay?" asked Chip, a bit of sting in his voice.

"…no. Happy?"

Chip sighed and shook his head. "No."

He helped me up then pointed at Phoenix. "You've gotta hurry up and beat this thing! It's almost like he's getting stronger by the moment!"

"I know, I know!"

"And I'll help by crawling into corner away from the fight…"

I grabbed Chip and shook my head. "Nuh uh! I've got a better idea for you!"

I whispered my plan in his ear, first afraid, then glad that he would get to help after all. My companion quickly flew toward the Phoenix as I got a barrel of water ready.

"Hey chickadee!" Chip called, gaining the foe's attention. "Want some chocolate?"

One loud roar was the response as the Phoenix charged at little Chip, spear-feathers flying in all directions. Chip yelped and flew as fast as he could toward me, and I was ready to throw water at it.

"Hurry Sonic, hurry!" Chip wailed.

"Grah!"

I heaved the container at the Phoenix, but only part of its fire went out. I groaned and jumped for another platform while Chip was throwing chocolate to try and save his life.

_Too bad the one from Holoska thawed out…_

"Lead it over here Chip!" I called, ready once again. I don't think he could've moved any faster. Chip rushed by me at record speed, Phoenix right on his tail. I stopped it dead in its tracks with the water, causing it to cry out once again and landed to recharge.

"Looks like it ran out of breath eventually…that's my chance!"

I gave Chip a high five then quickly headed over to finish the job. I jumped up, backhanded the bird, grabbed its beak and gave it an uppercut, then slammed my fist into its chest. I could tell I instantly knocked the wind out of it, because it was looking pretty faint.

"Time for the grand finale!"

I grabbed the bird firmly by the beak with both hands, then grunted as I strained to start swinging it. Eventually, I pulled it right off its feet, followed by dragging it across the ground.

"C'mon…C'mon…"

The weight became a bit light as I actually lifted it off of the ground. Momentum took over, and I was spinning the bird around like a merry-go-round. I let go at the most convenient point and sent it flying. Its pained cry echoed throughout the area until it crash landed hard on the ground. The Dark Phoenix was no more. I howled, then punched my fist into my palm.

"Strike 3, monster- that's enough out of you!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You all right?" I asked the Elder, holding him up off of the ground. He opened his eyes and sat up a little, though apparently still a bit weak.

"Y-Yes…thank you." As he restood up, the Elder turned to me. "How can I thank you? You will always have my deepest gratitude. I came here to look in on the holy shrine, but…it seems I somehow lost consciousness. I am the village elder. Thank you so much for coming to my aid."

In honor of my saving him, he put the Tablet Chip and I found together, then handed it to us. Now we could get into the temple!

"Let's go, Sonic!" Chip cried, all too eager to get going.

**A few moments later-**

"Huff…huff…"

_Was I seriously tired from running? The world really was upside down then!_

Chip was already at the pedestal, using his necklace's orb to make the Chaos Emerald slot appear. I arrived moments later, slowly as a matter of fact, and placed the next Chaos Emerald in its proper spot. The Gaia Temple rejuvenated its powers, and what did you know? We had the red Chaos Emerald back! And better yet…the third continent restored itself!

"Now what, Sonic?"

"I'll tell you what…" I exhausted, not quite ready to make the trek out of here. "We are leaving this nightmare of a night town ASAP! I'm not really in the mood for near-death experiences, and that's saying something!"

…………

Upon exiting the shrine, the large stone door closed shut behind us. We made it out just in time. Chip quickly flew off, and I did a daring jump after him. Once I landed coolly, I looked around…and rammed into Chip. He gave me a sheepish look while I nearly zonked out. I grabbed him, then flicked him over my shoulder. With him out of the way, I could see where we were…and the Phoenix, now not possessed by Dark Gaia, right in front of me.

"Whoa…"

"The moment the temple lit up, the beast woke up…" the Elder explained, standing next to it. "It appears he's come back to his senses!"

"I see…" I replied, heading toward them and talking more to the Phoenix rather than the man. "I'll bet its your job to_-urgh_!" Chip conked me in the back of the head, and the rest of m explanation was made significantly darker by the mere fact that I was trying to semi-brutally grab Chip. "-**guard** the Chaos Emerald temple."

_I was trying to be all profound and intelligent, and life slaps me in the back of the head. Go figure._

"You've must've gone berserk when the Emeralds lost their power!"

I was apparently right, because the legendary bird cried out- this time, not in pain and agony.

"Well, I'm glad you're back…" Chip trailed, flying up to him. He pulled out a chocolate bar, and I known I smacked my head until I heard him say, "I meant what I said- want some chocolate?"

_Chip, Chip, Chip…gotta love him._

The Phoenix bent down and took the treat in its beak before flying off.

"So long!" Chip and I called simultaneously.

At least it was able to get all of Dark Gaia's influence kicked out of it, and now that Phoenix was back to its old self. But what about me? Why couldn't I return to normal?

_When would it be my turn?_

_…not soon enough, that's for sure._


	21. Sonic's Nightmare

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

After I returned the third continent back to where it belonged, Eggman was apparently keeping track of everything else that was going on.

_Don't ask me how I know. I just figured you wanted to, that's all..._

"Your dinner, Doctor…" the robot known as "Ergo" said, revealing a HUGE submarine sandwich that was probably ordered from Subway- requested as Extra Large too.

Anyway, Eggman arose out of his chair, said "Thank you", and retrieved his meal for about 20 people.

"What's the progress on the Dark Gaia-powered Eggman Land construction system?" he asked before gnawing a bite out of his infinite-Decker sandwich.

"Current status is…27 percent complete. Progress is significantly behind projected timetable. Presumed cause of delay…Dark Gaia's dispersion across the globe." Eggman wolfed down the rest of his sandwich in one bite before replying to his robot minion.

"Oh, of all the lazy…here I go to the trouble of waking that Dark Gaia thing up, and it causes me nothing but delays!"

"Dark Gaia has yet to reach maturity within the planet's core. Ergo, it was still incomplete at the time of its awakening. Ergo, it was unable to sustain its own weight upon release. Ergo, it scattered across the world."

Eggman groaned and lightly smacked his head. Ergo shrugged- it was nothing but the truth.

"I don't want to hear about its weight issues!"

_Really? Let's talk about yours!_

"So what if I gave it a bit of a sudden awakening? This is unacceptable!"

"Ergo, this is the repercussion of _your _hasty actions."

Eggman violently turn around and spat, "What was that?" as Ergo attempted to look innocent.

"Grrrrr…I'm having a bad enough day as it is!" Eggman growled, his frustration and fury building up and getting ready to spread like wildfire. "First that professor runs off with the Gaia Manuscripts, and now the planet's coming back together! Hrr…hrr…hrrr…"

"That, Doctor, is the result of the power of the Chaos Emeralds- which_ you _discarded, along with Sonic. Ergo, another repercussion of _your_ hasty actions.

"_Q-Quiet_, you junk heap! That was, uh, all part of my plan! Part of the big picture! Where's the fun in having my plans succeed without any challenge?" He spread his arms out -twice- for emphasis. Ergo just stared at him like he was crazy.

_Which he is!_

"Ahem! Anyway, what's the status of the remaining Temples of Gaia?"

"Eggman forces have currently secured all locations," Ergo replied, motioning to a conveniently placed screen. Defensive preparations are nearly complete."

Eggman sighed and sat down again. "That'll take care of Sonic for now, which leaves the problem of Dark Gaia. It'd be difficult to gather every piece scattered across the world."

"Searching conventional wisdom banks for topical advice…"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." "Slow and steady wins the race." "Nobody likes a whiner."…"

"Hm, isn't there a more efficient way? Someway to…oh, I don't know…gather them all up at once?" the doctor began to ponder and mull it over, until his egghead of a brain came up with an ingenious idea. He slammed a fist into his palm before sticking his finger in the air. "Wait- that's it! Of course!"

His chair moved him in front of his computer, since he was too lazy to walk, and instantly pounded away on the keyboard. "Eeh hee hee hee hee! With this…THIS! All of my plans will be realized!"

And so he got to work…

. . . . .

"Professor Pickle may have found a new destination for you by now," Tails had explained to us once we returned to the Tornado…and its apparent repair job. "Sonic, let's go visit him in his laboratory in Spagonia."

"Okay Tails. It should be day there, right?"

"Yes…"

I was in the back of the plane almost instantly. "What are we still doing here then? Let's roll!"

Tails laughed and climbed up into the pilot's seat, Chip already sitting on the wing. Boy, I sure was glad we were getting out of Chun-Nan! This place was way too close for comfort, and it had been such a long night too! In fact, I found myself drifting to sleep…

I knew I deserved such a rest after all I went through…

. . . . .

Later on, I had woken up, but I certainly was not in Spagonia. And it certainly wasn't daytime either.

"What in the…Chip? Tails? Did we crash or something?" I asked airily, glancing around for my friends. The Tornado wasn't in sight, and neither were they. Scary. Surveying my surroundings, I was stuck in a city of some sort- one I had definitely not seen before. It was quiet- all too quiet at that. "Hello? Anyone around?"

No answer. Very eerie. I was about to declare the streets as deserted, until monsters appeared, ready to fight.

"So they're here too…" I mused, taking out the Rhinos…and green Pests? "What is going on?"

"Sonic…"

I froze. A voice. Who did it belong to?

"This way…this way…"

I tried to locate the owner of the voice, but everything was still deserted. I thought the sound was coming from the roof of another sky scraper, so I used a thin beam as a narrow bridge to make my way across I also made the mistake of looking down…and realizing that these buildings towered over the clouds!

_They weren't sky scrapers for nothing._

"Oh boy oh boy…"

I was in an unknown place alone crossing a beam with the threat of literally falling out of the sky…not that I've never done the latter before, but seriously- it was starting to really spook me out. It was so quiet; I could hear the wind whistling in my ears. I shivered. When I finally made it to my apparent destination, I noticed bars jetting out of a building, beckoning me to follow them. There really wasn't another choice, was there?

"I've got nothing to lose anyway…" I murmured, stretching my arm over and beginning to make my way across. It was not just a series of bar, but floating poles and yellow grip-blocks. Really- floating poles!

"Maybe I'm dreaming…" I trailed, highly cautiously grabbing onto a floating pole. "But I'm actually feeling the pole, seeing it…shoot, I can even smell it!"

_So much for that explanation…_

With every move I made, I began to become terrified. Where was I going? What was I doing? What was I going to do? Where was everybody…? I would've at least screamed, but no one would be able to hear me. Instead, I continued to work my way around the building- it wouldn't do me any good to just hang in the middle of the air. I latched onto a ledge winding around the building and started to work my way across, until I realized there were razor blades of all things moving back and forth aiming to cut me in two!

"Whoa!"

Moving fast, I let go briefly, then pulled myself to a farther part of the ledge- which also came with a build-it death blade. How nice. I felt several strands of fur get hacked off while trying to maneuver my way by. Once I somewhat overcame that nightmare, it was another beam to go across. The wind blew lightly, rushing through my fur and sending chills up my spine.

_It also blew me off the edge._

So much for poise and balance! I fell with a simple breeze! I snapped my arm up to save me just in time, but I was paralyzed with the thought of how close to a potentially lethal drop I was. I had no idea if it would rival a fall from space or not, but I wasn't looking forward to finding out.

The moment I made it safely across the beam, I was ransacked by more green Pests and Rhinos. I tried to fight back, but it was like something was holding me back. I felt harsh punches make contact with my already weak back, jabs to my sides, and bites almost everywhere from those stupid Pest. I spun around in an attempt to shake them off, but that was hardly effective. I felt another set of teeth sink into my flesh, causing me to keel over.

"Argh! Stop! STOP!"

No use- shouting didn't solve anything. I grabbed a Rhino and repeatedly smashed it into the roof every time I was bitten, but that didn't assist the situation either. I sunk my claws into the nearest Pest then chucked it over the edge. While I wasn't looking, another Rhino grabbed me by the shoulder and threw me at an electric fence.

"AAAARRGGGHHH!"

_At least 500 watts of pure electricity were being directed into me at that very moment! Every fiber in my being burned, and if I didn't get out, paralysis wasn't inevitable…_

Yet I didn't get out. I was continued to be electrified until I blacked out…and I had no idea if I was to awake again.

"Wake up, you loser."

Well. Talk about THAT being a wakeup call! When I sat up again, I was still on a roof, but much farther than previously.

"How'd that happen?" I asked no one in particular. "…and who woke me?"

_And called me a loser?_

No answer- yet- but I did receive two armored robots and red Pests. As I tried to get the Pests to back off, the robots advanced upon me and held me up.

"Let go! Or else face the wrath of-" I started until I was cut off by the last person I'd ever expect.

"Who? Sonic the Hedgehog? Sonic the Werehog? Or something in between, you freak?"

_"…Tails?"_

Tails. Standing right in front of me as big as life. He did not wear his classic contagious smile. He had a scowl that would put Shadow to shame. I felt both my eyes and my ears droop as I watched him.

"Tails! Where are we? What happened? Where's Chip?"

"Chip." The name came out so acidly, I flinched in fear of getting the aftermath. "That's all you care about anymore, right underneath yourself."

I raised an eyebrow. "What're you talking about Tails? You're not yourself…"

He just waved his hand, turned around, and scoffed. "How would you know who I am anymore? You're always with that Chop weirdo-"

"His_ name_ is **Chip**!"

"Of course it is. And my name is Miles Prower. But you call me Tails. I think I can call Chump whatever I want to call him-"

"You _want_ people to call you Tails!" I protested, trying to wriggle free. "What does this have to do with anything Tails? Knock this off and help me!"

He turned back to me, blue eyes filled with ice, sadness, rage, and a twinge of jealousy.

"No. Now it's your turn to sit there and help me instead of having the entire world listen to you whine and whine and whine about being stuck as a Werehog. Remember way back in Mazuri, when you were as happily as you could possibly freakin' be? I do. You promised me something. You promised me I could talk to you whenever I needed to."

"And I meant that."

"Yeah, that's why every time you're off on some quest with Chip, I needed to talk. I needed to let it out. But you were gone. By the time you comeback, I'm already so full of negativity I'm afraid I'm going to blow!"

"Tails-"

"Shut it! I'm not finished!"

_I was terrified. Was Tails possessed or something! ?_

"High fives, way-to-gos, sweet treats, and seemingly never ending adventures…sounds just like you and me, huh?"

I gave a solemn nod.

"Yeah, back when I was 4! All we ever did when I was young was go adventuring, and there was no purple dog or whatever to follow you then, ah? But now that I've grown up and am fully capable of being on my own, you think you can just scrape me to the side like gum off your shoes that's been stuck there for 5 years, then step in a new fresh wad of magenta gum and run off?"

"Odd metaphor…" I murmured under my breath.

"Newsflash Sonic. Sidekicks and best friends and not like old gloves you can take off, throw away, and replace with new ones. We have feelings. When's the last time you and I did something- without any Chip, without any world breaking apart, without anything? A good long time ago, Sonic. If you really cared about me, you wouldn't just leave me knowing something was wrong, you'd force it out of me! What if I was never ready to speak up? Hope by the time you and Fido get done with your next adventure that I'll be? Well, you're wrong."

_I felt sick. Let me transform painfully into a Werehog every second of my life than ever see Tails this upset._

"Do you know what it's like, wanting to join along but not being able to because you know you're going to be a third wheel? And having to make up stupid excuses to stay behind just to cry? You never will, because you're sobbing about being a Werehog. I'm too slow! I'm too scary-looking! Well, you're apparently too stupid too, you idiot. I hope you're never normal again- **_ever."_**

Before I could retort, Tails pulled out a familiar green orb.

"You're never going to see Cocoa again either. He and I had a rather long talk, and he told me to give you this."

I meekly reached for it, only for Tails to crush the magical sphere in his hands. My eyes widened in horror. All this was hitting me like cannonballs- Tails, Chip, me, and everything. It was like a storm of heavy acid rain!

Tails snapped his fingers, and I felt the two robots carry me toward the edge.

"Get with it. Sometimes life just loves to flip you off, you know…"

"Tails! Don't let them do this!" I shouted before being carelessly tossed over the building. The last thing I saw was Tails' normal face, smiling at me.

"Sucks to be you, Sonic…"

I heard my name echo on the way down as I fell hundreds of stories by platforms and poles and windows and enemies.

_Who was I? Sonic the Hedgehog with an alternate form caused by a prematurely born God in the middle of the planet? Or Sonic the Werehog, sealing inside Sonic the Hedgehog until the time was right?_

My head spun, the only word I could manage to comprehend being my own name…

_"Sonic…Sonic…Sonic…"_

A flash of a creature came next, snarling and hissing and clawing at anything and everything I touched. A Werehog, unleashed at the presence of the moon. Complete untamed. It turned, dark eyes glaring with hatred.

It was me.

. . . .

_"WHOOOOO**AAAAAAAaaaaa**!"_

Tails and Chip jumped away from my sides as I sat up screaming bloody murder, flailing my arms about like crazy.

"No! No! I'm **not** a monster! Chip** isn't **dead! TAILS IS **NOT** A _PSYCHO_!"

"I think Chun-nan really took a toll…" Chip whispered to Tails.

"_Sonic! _Calm down! It was only a nightmare!" Tails explained, frantically trying to calm me down. My senses were still foggy, but I suddenly felt compelled to hug Tails.

"Oh, little buddy, I'm so sorry! No one could ever, ever replace such a great and talented little brother as you, and you really need to know that! I promise! You say the word; I'll be there when you need me, even if I'm in the middle of battling Eggman to save the world-"

"Slow down! What're you talking about?" Tails asked quizzically.

"The nightmare…I was trapped in a city- as a Werehog…it was so insane- messed up, out of place…nothing made sense except you, evil, chocolate…"

"Wow." "I think he's still out of it…"

Tails pushed me back down gently, allowing me to pull myself together. I saw a sudden bit of cobalt blue and almost asked what it was, until I realized it was me- I hadn't been normal in so long that I had forgotten, briefly. I was staring at my leg now, and then I held up my hands. Peachy, bare skinned arms and sturdy white gloves. The surroundings- we were in Spagonia and it was definitely daytime.

I took a few deep breaths. "Sorry for flipping out there- it was quite a scare! It almost felt real!"

"Are you better, Sonic?" Chip questioned. "I'll offer you some chocolate!"

_Truth was, I was still struck horrified after that dream of mine, but I was determined to shake it off._

I grinned at Chip and accepted the chocolate bar. "Thanks. Now, what did we come for?"

"To see if Professor Pickle knows where to go next!" Tails finished. I gave a nod and hopped off the Tornado. I then helped Tails down and practically dragged him to the lab.

"Then let's go! Wouldn't want to keep him waiting for us a moment longer, huh? You can even lead if you want, Tails!"

Tails stared at me for a long time. "…I hope you get to run today. Maybe that'll straighten you out."

"Yeah! I've been dying for a run!" I stated truthfully with a rather jittery grin. What the heck?

_I was in some combination of scared to death and overly excited and happy…what would you call being somewhere in the middle? I really need to know, because that's exactly what it was and I felt like I was going to fall into two halves at any moment._

I walked awkwardly off, Tails and Chip constantly trading looks on the way there.

"Maybe he needs a chill pill…"

"Maybe he needs his senses smacked into him…in a good way, of course."

I felt my eyes twitch.

_I was seriously going insane._

* * *

**Ah, weird creepy little nightmare...two purposes: one to start off the chain reaction that gets Sonic back to normal (thinking wise), and two because I wanted an excuse to weave an Empire City level into the Wii version's story :D. Worked out quite nicely...or creepily. Your choice. **


	22. Dawn of Happiness

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

When we entered the Professor's lab, I was half expecting Amy to pop out of a box and go on a rant about how I'd marry her someday. But no. She wasn't around…

"Oh Sonic! You're back!" I heard Professor Pickle call. I glanced over my shoulder, smiled, and waved.

"Yeah, I'm back!"

"Wonderful! Another piece has returned! Good work, Sonic, my boy! Keep going at this rate and the planet will be as good as new in no time! I'd love to see the look on that Eggman's face right now! Speaking of that menace, it appears he's become quite active as of late. I've heard of strange robot sightings here and in Chun-Nan. It gives me the chills just to think of it…"

I gave him a thumbs up. "_I'll_ take care of everything!"

I turned to rush out, but Tails had grabbed my wrist with an iron grip. I slipped and almost fell on my back.

"Hey Professor Pickle? I know you're not a doctor but could you help us figure out what's wrong with Sonic?"

"Yeah, he's been acting awfully strange after we left Chun-Nan!" added Chip.

I protested while standing back up and tried to pull away. "I'm perfectly fine! Now let me go so I can-"

"Hmm…let me take a look…"

Next thing I knew he was staring into my eyes and poking me. He gave short nods and grunts too.

_What was I? Some observable specimen?_

"Has he been having any odd experiences?"

Chip nodded.

"How about any mental conflicts?"

Tails nodded.

"Any nightmares?"

Both Tails and Chip nodded. I stopped trying to escape- this sounded interesting. Professor Pickle smiled and stepped back away me.

"Sonic here is only stressed out, you know."

"_Me?_ Stressed? **Why?"**

Pickle made a gesture toward my friends. "For all previously said reasons, my boy. It seems it is not frustration, or anger, or even your hatred for your night form! It's just the mere fact everything is crashing down upon you and you feel like you might not be able to carry the weight! Not to mention how different your night form is for you..."

"…how did you know that?"

_Because I certainly didn't- I felt it, but I replaced what I truly felt with what I could interpret…holy jeez, this is becoming more complicated and complex by the second!_

"My assistant has been experiencing similar things…just not apparently as in depth as you, Sonic.

"Is there some way to…unstress him?" Chip asked.

Pickle laughed. "Of course! All the chap has to do is unwind a little and relax!"

"By doing my favorite thing?"

"By doing your favorite thing."

I jumped up and shouted, "YES!" then almost bolted out the door with Chip at my side, until Tails stopped me again.

"Uh, Sonic…"

"Yeah?"

"…what was your nightmare about?"

I frowned. "Why'd ya wanna know about that?"

"Because as soon as you woke up you were apologizing to me and things like that…"

I wanted to go limp, but surprisingly I didn't. I smiled and patted Tails' head. "Listen to me when I tell you that yes, I do think you're grown up, yes, I think you can handle being on your own now, but there's _no way_ I'd _ever_ shove you out of my life just because I've found a new sidekick."

Tails' eyes widened.

"Chip's…well, sort of only temporary. He has absolutely no recollection of his past- don't even bring up Shadow- and maybe as soon as he gets them back…he'll go back to his old life or whatever. But not only that- it's almost as if he has a connection with the Gaia Temples, so I need him too! And even if Chip sticks around, I'm okay with that! He's still my friend, just like you and Amy and Knuckles and everyone else! Can you understand?"

"…yes I understand."

I wrapped Tails in another hug, and he hugged me back.

"When everything comes back around, it'll be you and me kid. I promise."

"Really?"

"Have I ever broken a promise to you?"

Tails smirked. "Well, considering you haven't broken the last one, no. Now go out there and run 'til your heart explodes! I'll stay here with Professor Pickle until you're ready to head to Chun-Nan."

"Yes! Awesome! See you later Tails! I'll be back in a hopefully not-too-short flash!"

I bolted out the door, Tails chuckling away. As he went to go pick up that book he was reading before, Amy suddenly appeared in the doorway gnawing on a cucumber sandwich.

"Was that _Sonic?_ Did I miss him?" she panicked. Tails removed his bookmark and turned to where he had left off.

"…yeah. He's gone, but I wouldn't bother him."

"Why's that? Is he in such a bad mood that he'd even yell at me?"

Tails smiled, pretending to be very into the book. "No. He's in way too of a good one."

…

"Ready Chip?" I asked, once we were back in Spagonia's sacred shrine. It was so dark in there, as I recalled, I went Werehog again but not for long!

_Just like in Holoska…_

Chip gave me a nod and used his apparent ability to open the door. The Sun Door moved out of the way, and once I stepped through, I was running through the day- you could say.

…

"I…am singing…in Spagonia!" I mused, rushing forward the second I could. Oh, the sweet, sweet speed! I was feeling way better almost instantly!

"Hooray for happy Sonic again!" cheered Chip.

"You better believe it Chip!" I called back happily, drifting around a corner. We were on a different street than the one I ran on before, which made me happy. New places to explore! I rushed down what remained of the current road, and then drifted around a beautiful fountain.

_Still, the architecture was as beautiful as ever!_

"Yeah! Whoo!"

I blasted over a speed pad, rushed through rings, and rocketed under Spagonia's many mini bridges. A dead end was coming up, and I turned at the last second into a narrow ally.

"Jeez…" I muttered, sidestepping out of the way of boxes thrown askew into the path. "…the city may look nice, but its alleys are a disaster!"

I cart wheeled out of the way of another then spin dashed over the rest. As I ran, I noticed two robots (similar to the one in that nightmare of mine) standing around. So that's what Pickle meant about suspicious robot activity…I was going too fast to simply turn around and smash the crud out of them, so I kept going. Another unexpected turn came up, and I found myself crashing into several tables with umbrellas and flower boxes. When I escaped the nightmare, there was an umbrella in my hand and two flowers sticking out of my mouth. Chip started cracking up.

"Oh, think that's funny, eh?" I asked, spitting out the plants and chucking the umbrella over my shoulder. Chip instantly froze and gave me a fearful look. "Let's see how you'll like it!"

"No! Not another joy ride!" he cried as I grabbed his legs and strapped him to my back like a backpack.

"Oh yes!"

"Will it have lethal arrows and near-death jumps?"

"…probably not. Too bad though."

Chip put on a horrified look as I booked it once again. The wind ran through my quills my fingers and rushed against my cheeks. I smiled.

_Ah, how I missed the sensation…_

Chip started clinging to me again, but I almost didn't even know he was there! I was lost in my own twisted kind of bliss right there and then, and I wasn't sure anything could drag me out. We flew through a longer alley, buildings going by in a bricky-blur. I spun through a row of rings and landed on a grind rail.

"OOooooooo yes!"

I did a flip- making Chip groan- before returning to the rail and zipping onto the balcony.

"We haven't even gone that fast yet Chip," I responded to the shivering on my shoulders. "Now, THIS is TRUE speed!"

Chip's face was pressed against my back as I boosted forward, becoming one with the wind. To add to the fun, I ran over a Boost Pad and started rolling around in my ball form at top speeds!

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-"

"Whoo!"

Bam! Spring- and we were in the air, propelled onto a building. I lost track of what I was doing after that- speed completely took over. One second I was on the ground and the next I was in the air. Another moment I was spinning, shouting, "Feeling good!" and after that on another rail.

_Speed rocks._

I crouched for more speed, if it was possible, then rounded a loop in the rail while headed back for the ground. The road took a massive dip after that- I was running downward, if you can believe that!

"Slow down, Sonic!" Chip wailed, hardly able to open his eyes. I laughed.

"Are you kidding?"

"No…"

"You wanna hang with me…you've gotta be able to keep up with the heat of the speed, baby!"

Chip groaned. "I know…" he then perked up. "Which makes you so cool!"

I smirked. "You better believe it! YES!"

Bounding off the wall, sliding under tight spaces, and rounding corners…the thrill of Spagonia was amazing! I hadn't had so much fun since Mazuri! I stepped on a spring, spying a row of flying robot in the air. I gave Chip a quick warning as I threw myself violently into them one by one. They were nothing but scrap within seconds! I jetted through more rings, then returned to the road.

"Watch out, Sonic!"

"Huh-"

I stopped paying attention for one moment, and it turns out I was zooming for a dead end. I slammed on my brakes at the last moment but it was no use- we crashed into the slim edge of the road…and our very lives were saved by my ability to grind on the meager rail.

Chip and I exchanged glances. "…sweet."

I weaved my way through another narrow alley, coming out in midair, surprisingly.

_They didn't call it a Rooftop Run for nothing!_

"Thank goodness my running gave us some air!" I exclaimed, thrilled that I had made the large leap to an entirely new set of building roofs to run on. "…and that gives me an idea!"

Chip instinctively held tighter. I blasted forward with a massive Sonic Boom, sending all loose Spagonian objects flying backward behind me, and Chip and I into the air again, soaring over the rooftops.

_And who said a hedgehog couldn't fly?_

"Whoa…it looks pretty cool from up here!"

I whistled. "It sure does, Chip. And we're probably the only ones who'll ever get to see it, just like this!"

Chip blinked. "You make everything seem so magical and special…"

"Every moment is magical and special. Remember that."

I jolted a little when I found myself running down some stairs out of nowhere, but it certainly didn't shake me! The road sunk again, then rounded its way around a section of buildings. I recognized this place- this was the area I ran in where Tails and Chip had picked me up to save the Professor! Now I was going to go beyond it!

"Here we go Chip!" I said, eyeing the master architecture above us. Seeing it a second time was still pretty sweet.

_The road after that was like an out-of-this-world rollercoaster!_

It had a loop, a twist, an up and down, and another blaster…thing that sent me skyrocketing! I practically was the road, since I was able to adapt my running when the path ahead made even the slightest change… The area became like a central park, with trees and things growing along the sides unlike the rest of the city. I jumped up, having noticed spring on the trees of all things, and bounced my way down the street. Flipping stylishly into the area, I targeted a zip line and grabbed onto that, cheering on the way down. Doing a double-check, I heard Chip chuckle over my shoulder.

"Hm, what this? You wouldn't be _laughing,_ would you?"

Chip snapped his mouth closed, the happiness fighting to break out at the edges of his smile. I grinned back, then focused on what lie ahead. I unintentionally made contact with more "tree springs", each with their own sets of plentiful rings, ending up with me running furiously along a wall. And I literally mean on the wall.

"Kids, don't try this at home!"

I ricocheted off yet another spring, landed on a Boost Pad, and found myself drifting into an area by the river. Quite peacefully, actually. It would make a good tourist attraction- if Apotos didn't already claim THAT glorious title.

I shrugged and ran on, latching onto another zip line and taking off to where I needed to go. Now guess what Chip was saying?

"Faster, Sonic! Faster! The rush! THE RUSH!"

I snapped my fingers and snickered, "You want it? You got it!"

And we were gone, only identifiable as a blue (and red-purplish) streak among a stone city. We passed several stores and apartments, rode another zip line, put a round of robots out of commission, and managed to snag a plate of spaghetti from someone. Chip put chocolate on it and ate it instantly, while I apologized to the woman we "took" it from via call in the wind.

_I'm glad it wasn't the same person I snatched the pizza from…_

We were flying over the town once again, this time stopped short by a grind rail that rivaled the one from Apotos. It swerved around, looped about, and then did a sharp curve back into the city. I thought it was cool ( it was longer than I made it sound), since it gave an even better over view of the city.

_Everyone needs to get their butts up here and TRY THAT._

Pretty much after that was straightforward running and occasionally 360 twists in the air, which may seem like nothing much to you, but all that running made me feel like…me. And it wasn't just another jaunt through Green hill Zone- this was new territory- a place I haven't made my tracks in, and I left a trail just about everywhere I went!

"Get ready…"I trailed as the road took a steeper slant that ever before now. "GO!"

"Wheeeeeeeeeeee!"

It was a perfect downward angle in which I was running, giving the equivalent feeling on a plummeting rollercoaster.

_Of course, only _I _got that sensation from simply running._

When the road went normal again, I grabbed onto a pulley and realized it led all the way to the top of the clock tower, which I recalled from my nightly romp there. I was questioning how I was going to get down, until the grind rail caught my eye…

"Epically awesome."

I impatiently waited to get to the top- that cord was SO SLOW- and as soon as I was up there, Chip and I were winding our way back down the clock tower, hooting and hollering all the way. We hit a spring on the way down, were propelled to another tower, then came back down via…zip line!

"Life doesn't get better than this!" I sighed. Chip sighed too.

"Yeah…if only life was made of chocolate. THEN it would be perfect."

_Maybe I should have named him Cocoa._

As he was going on about chocolate, and I returned to just plain running, I heard a whirling noise behind us.

"Uh…Chip…"

Chip stopped talking, heard the noise, turned around, and let out a very high pitched yelp.

_A robot was back._

"Great- this heap again? Don't worry Chip- I'll turn him into a tin can in no time!"

"Go Sonic!"

It sent a laser down the left side of the road, completely missing me since I was on the right. Psh, how lame! Then I saw it revving up some missiles, and even I knew not to mess around when those were on the scene. I boosted, making it very difficult to hit me while I was going top speed, and every projectile just barely clipped my heels. I allowed down, noticed another laser coming my way, this time, and I cart wheeled out of the way.

"Huh...interesting!"

"Sonic! The Goal Ring!" Chip cried, pointing to the other end of the long Spagonian Bridge. I caught a quick glimpse of it before that robot blocked my line of sight. I wasn't going to be able to defeat it when I got there, so I was going to have to outlast it!

_Piece of cake._

I still continued to sidestep a barrage of missiles, awaiting at least one good chance to strike. When it ran out of ammo, I was in its face in a flash. I spin dashed and kicked and punched until I was sure it was operationally anymore. Chip looked around then used his secret weapon- chocolate. It wasn't razor-blade sharp, but it was still effective. The bot fell, we reached the goal, and we shared a high five.

…

"We've been to all kinds of places, but still nobody knows me…" Chip said sadly, once we returned to main Spagonia. I was going to comfort him, until he sprung up and said, "Next, stop, Chun-Nan. Let's go, Sonic!"

"Uhm, okay...yeah!" I replied, taken aback by his resiliency. "We can't get to Spagonia's Temple quite yet anyway…let's go get Tails!"

I hurried back to the lab, cracking a smile and chuckling along the way. Chip noticed I had a bit of skip in my step- I certainly didn't- as I rushed away. He grinned and eagerly flew off behind me.

"Oh yes- he's definitely better."

* * *

**Way less spooky than the last chapter xD And they keep getting better! **


	23. Sonic's Daydream

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Hey Tails! Pickle! We're back because I pretty much sped through Spagonia but found nothing useful!" I called as I burst through the front door, as if I was coming home from school or something.

_Not that I would go _there_! Bleh!_

"Hi Sonic!" Tails called, sitting at a table reading a book…with Amy. I was on the defensive within moments, but all she did was take a bite of her sandwich, wave, then went back to her book. I did a double-take.

"Amy, you're not all afraid of me again, are you?" I asked, my voice going up a pitch. She broke away from the book's trance and laughed.

"Of course not! I was reading on past times when Dark Gaia broke the world apart…"

"It's quite interesting, actually…" added Tails, reading about the same thing. I smacked my head.

"Oh yay- now Amy's becoming book smart! What're the odds?"

"I don't know Sonic, but it'd do you some good to catch up!" joked the professor, entering with another plate of those sandwiches. Amy and Tails laughed while I gave him a look. "Only playing, Sonic. You're actually quite the sharp fellow!"

Amy got out of her seat and at last tackled me. "Of course he is! We're talking about Sonic, you know!"

"Whew- almost thought you had a cold or something for not mauling me at first sight…"

I received a painful punch in the shoulder for the remark as Tails flew out of his seat. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah…but is it day or night over there?"

The Professor looked thoughtful for a moment, "By the time you get there, it should be…" I widened my eyes.

_Pray not be night…_

"…still daytime. In fact, it should only be around noon!"

I did a flip and threw my hands up. "Awesome! How sweet is that? Two runs in a row!"

"Ahaha! I see he's up and alive again!" the professor chuckled. Amy, Tails, and Chip grinned and nodded.

"You should've seen him in Spagonia!" snickered Chip. "He was skipping around and everything!"

Tails held back laughter while Amy went, "oooh!" I folded my arms and turned away, hiding my embarrassed blush.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about…"

"Haha, skipping or not, to Chun-Nan we go!"

Amy giggled and waved. "See you later Sonic! Please don't be long!"

"Don't be long? I will have probably ran the Great Wall of Chun-Nan before the sun goes down!" I pointed forward and walked out the door in long strides. "Away we go!"

Chip filtered around Tails' head excitedly. "Cool! I sense something good going to happen later today, don't you?"

Tails looked at him then just shrugged. "I don't know- you're the one with correct hunches."

"Yeah…well, we'd better go before Sonic gets too impatient and tries to _run_ to Chun-Nan!"

This time, Tails actually smiled. "Yeah…"

….

I lounged casually on the back of the plane, enjoying the sunny skies above. A few clouds blew by- doubly nice- and the light breeze wafted through all our fur. Sure was peaceful…

"Wouldn't it be great just to keep running and almost never stop?" I asked absent-mindedly, getting a bit lost in my thoughts. "With, like, one long road to run on?"

"Perhaps for you, Sonic!" Tails said, giving me a smile from over his shoulder. "I'd like a thousand rings just to fly through, without my tails getting tired…"

"What about you, Chip?"

"…I'd like chocolate."

Tails smacked his head while I sweat dropped. "How did I not see that coming…"

Well, Tails wanted loops, Chip wanted chocolate, and I wanted a road. So I was going to get a road…

…..

I jetted downward, the street moving in the direction I was going- or somewhat the other way around. It was the same place as my nightmare, only it was day, and the area didn't seem so dark, empty and threatening.

_And hopefully Tails wouldn't go twisted and commit murder…I still get shivers thinking about that!_

I bulldozed through a blocked off area then grinded my way along the street. I was grinning like a fool as I jumped off, raced over a boost pad, and looped around the loop in the street.

"Best city in the world!" I called airily. It was like I wasn't even there. My spirit sure was, but I was definitely floating. …or I was grinding, since I was definitely doing that too!

"All right!" I crouched for extra speed and balance until it ended and I was thrown into the air. A robot was my ticket to the next set of rails!

_Nothing's perfect unless you're kicking butt!_

I zoomed down in a spin dash, knocking the robot out of the air and making my way down to solid footing. A wave of adrenaline rushed through my body when I landed on the very edge of the next grind rail. I grinned bigger than I already was, if that was possible! I curved around, jumped, and then landed in a golden tunnel, which I didn't remember from before. The whole inside was golden and every footstep I took echoed across the walls.

I whistled, "Cool!", which also bounced off the walls. I laughed and jetted back into the sunlight, making a sharp drift around a tight curve in the road. I hit a Boost Pad, followed by a ramp, and then I was barreling into the air and touching down on top of another building. Before I could see what was going on, I felt myself running into a spring and watched 40 stories go flying downwards past my face. I rocketed through red loops, landing safely from so high up.

"Okay, what's next?" I asked myself eagerly. Apparently it was going to be a spinning cylinder with "fences" sticking out.

_That's not something you see in an average city!_

I weaved through that, charged into and other spring…and crashed into a red umbrella.

_And I thought they had enough of those in Spagonia!_

I grunted "Ow…" while chucking the umbrella and the table it belonged to out of my way. It broke my momentum! I stretched, ran in place for a moment, "charging" my speed, and blasted off again, colliding into a spring. I thanked the robot (that I destroyed) for helping get to the next part, which was another pulley. I held on with only one hand, flying upwards and landing stylishly.

"Beat that!"

I created a Sonic boom mere seconds afterward, sending a line of robots flying in a multitude of directions. I snickered over my shoulder, running over a ramp once again. It took me to a highway- which was surprisingly empty for a city of such quality- where I bypassed all the turnpikes and pay booths. I literally jumped over the road and latched onto a zip line, which I'm really not sure why it was doing there…

_Don't question it- just enjoy it!_

When I let go, the road curved into a loop-de-loop once again, me becoming one with it. I even dared to close my eyes, somehow able to jump large gaps, grab onto another zip line, and sprint perfectly through row of rings. Suddenly, I crashed through a window. My eyes shot open after I made sure the glass blew off, only to see a huge twist in the road…than went vertically down alongside a skyscraper. Dear Chaos.

"Wooooooo-_hooooooooo_!"

_Uh…wait…how was I going to get back on the ground while I was headed straight for it at top speed?_

The answer was me slightly stumbling and collapsing into a perfectly placed spring. With no control whatsoever, I spiraled upwards into the air, unintentionally crashed into a robot, rolled over the edge of a building, shattered another window, and jumped off a falling platform right before it fell. I blinked then kept running.

_Thinking over the laws of how the heck that was even possible bored me._

I gained a little more speed-

"OW! Ooooo…"

I slammed into a stinkin' window. Ouch… I'm surprised I didn't beak that one! Rubbing my face and taking a few step back, I blasted forward in a Sonic Boom, shattering the glass for sure. That what it got for getting in MY way! Snickering, I leaped off the edge of the road's dead end, then flipped several times in the air and came back down on a bridge of some sort.

"Feeling good!"

And boy was I! I happily sprinted over the bridge, metal thunking following behind me. I did a double take and peeked over my shoulder- sure enough, robot.

"Oh, someone came to play, huh?" I said, positioning myself in the middle of the road. It charged a laser in my direction- I scoffed and jumped right over it. Then it tried sending a shockwave down the road, which I also easily avoided. After that it was pretty much me dancing around all sort of lasers. One shot by the shoulder, one from the eyes, and some from the 'bot's hands slamming down on the ground. In other words, I apparently wasn't going to get a hit in.

I drift around a corner and onto another bridge, this time, three individual little green robots in front of me. Those would certainly be a piece of cake! Several electric obstacles and other androids loitered the streets, and you wanna know what I did?

_Bulldozed right through 'em._

The remainders of the ground robots shot up into the airborne ones, putting them out of commission instantly.

"Weird…" I muttered, bouncing off a series of springs and into new territory. And by new territory, I mean an extra large grind rail. "Oh well- this definitely makes up for it!"

I was shouting "Woo!" the entire time, doing insane tricks, flips and jumps just to stay on! Every single rail wove by a set of buildings, only to lead to another. It was madness- in a good way. By the time the grinding fest was finished, I ended up on the building with the Goal Ring.

"Beautiful!" I cheered, pulling off a super difficult acrobatic move and striking a pose. Then, afterward, I broke down laughing.

…

"Ha ha…ha ha…_hahahahahahaha!"_

"Sonic! We're here! We're in Chun-Nan!"

"I know…wake me up when I get there…"

"…_what!_ Sonic, you ARE awake! And we ARE here!"

"Wow, he's really lost in that dream…"

"Hello? Tails to Sonic! Someone's not on the same frequency!"

"That was _awesome!"_

Tails sighed as Chip waved his hands in front of my glazed eyes.

"Um…Sonic! Shadow, Jet, and somehow Knuckles have all tied for the title of Fastest Thing Alive!"

I jolted back into reality. "What! Oh no they didn't!"

"Yes! He's back!"

"Wait…what?"

"Sonic…are you okay?" Tails asked slowly. "You were laughing pretty boldly and shouting random things and wailing happily!"

"Wasn't I running on a road?"

"Not that I last saw…" "I thought we were on a plane the entire time…"

I grabbed my head. "Whoa, that must've been some daydream then, huh?"

"I guess, if you were telling us to wake you up!" chuckled Tails.

I smiled secretly. "Oh…so it never happened then…"

"What? That Shadow, Jet and Knuckles-"

"Oh _that?_ Yeah, that didn't happen either."

Tails stared at me incredulously as I jumped casually off the plane.

"Sonic, you feeling fine? Maybe Professor Pickle made a mistake or-"

I held up a hand and shook my head. "No Tails. I'm great! And if you really want to know the truth…I'm better than I've ever been in a long, long time…"

And with that, I hunted down the village elder, Chip assuring Tails with a thumbs up.

* * *

**Dang. This story is a year old already and we're barely halfway done! Probably that big hiatus' fault though. Oh well- I'm still going strong aren't I? ;D**


	24. And So We Carry On

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Chun-Nan was much less creepy in the daylight. I sighed gratefully- I thought I was going to have to flinch at every dark turn and waterfall. All the local folk recognized me- what a miracle!- and congratulated me for saving the elder. I just grinned and waved, not wanting to have to go through a thousand "It was no big deals" or anything of the sort.

We headed to the back gate where Zonshen (the village elder) was standing, doing his sacred duty.

"Hi! Can we get to the Gaia temple, maybe? Or at least through the shrine…"

"Words can't express how grateful I am to you two. My appreciation shows no bounds. I deeply, respectfully, and heartfully thank you!"

_…all I did was pick you up from the ground…_

"I have entrusted Hualin with something you've been looking for. I believe you'll find her sitting on a bench down the street."

"All right, thanks! Let's roll, Chip!"

**Down the street at a bench-**

"You guys are AWEsome!" the girl waiting there instantly shrieked. I sighed. Another fan. Chip, on the other hand, struck an "adorable" pose and made Hualin squeal again. "You not only saved the elder, you're going to fix the whole planet! It sure is a big world…"

"All in a day's work mam!" he said coolly. I flashed him an incredulous glance.

"_Excuse_ me?"

He shrugged and gave another cheeky grin to Hualin.

"Oh, I almost forgot! The elder gave me something to give to you!" she handed the Sun Tablet of Chun-Nan, making me grin. Run time!

"It's shrine time!" Chip exclaimed heroically.

"Aw, you're SO cute! And you've been saving the world all this time? You're so…awesome! Can I have an autograph?"

_Apparently this girl was CHIP'S fan. Not mine. ..._

I groaned in disgust, grabbed Chip, and dragged him away muttering, "Save the cuteness for later…"

"Wait! I didn't give her chocolate yet!"

…..

At the shrine, a bittersweet Chip (no pun intended) floated forth to the Sun Door, just like in Spagonia. It rumbled open, giving us access to the day areas beyond the…shrine I suppose.

_I'm terrible at making things sound dramatic. Phoo._

"Well, anyway…here we go!"

"Chun-Nan DOES look more appealing in the daylight…" Chip agreed.

_I could definitely agree with that!_

I took off down the red bridge from before, which was still broken, and sprinted over water. Light droplets splashed against my face, and surprisingly I wasn't going to flip out. The water just wasn't as threatening.

Jumped off a nearby spring, I performed a homing attack on another round of Eggman's robots, thrashing them instantly. Chip and I brushed by them, not giving the heaps a second thought. The same thing happened again with another spring moments later, but this time the robots were in the air and practically made a path for to take.

"Let's do it!"

I spin dashed each of them, one by one, and then spiraling through a rainbow ring. It shot me to a different path, leading into one of the Chun-Nanian buildings. I heard Chip's voice echo, "Anyone in here!"

"Nah, it's completely deserted…" I replied, speeding right through.

"Completely deserted except for robots!" cried Chip afterwards. He frantically pointed ahead of me to a line of robots waiting to do some damage. I skidded to the ground, taking out all three with one well placed (and awesome) kick. We exchanged smirks as I cart wheeled through the halls. There were so many, and I barely had a split second to swap walkways!

"No wonder it's abandoned- there's no place to run!" I complained, colliding into a wall and peeling onto the floor. Chips stifled laughter as I flipped back up and took off again. At last, we ended up outside. It was a long and narrow area- but it certainly wasn't a hall. I drifted around the corner, blasted over Boost Pads, and ended up back on the Dragon Road. It was made of concrete, with a small red fence separating out from the surround pond- which was actually quite large.

I took note of the delicate lily pads floating about as I gained speed, rushing by in the blink of an eye. It was so easy to get lost in the speed- I could go so fast that nobody would see me!

_Ah, how true that was!_

The road up ahead started to break apart. Some ended with a ramp while others sank beneath the water. I zoomed onward, drifting by, skimming over water, and running up a loop in the path. Then, spring, boost pad, epic turn, ramp, and stylish twist in the air, in that very order. Grinning, I made contact with a spring that gave me a boost upwards onto a grind rail.

"Yep-I really like Chun-Nan more in the morning!" I laughed, grinding all way down. When it ended, I jumped back down onto the road and continued my run. I braked at an oncoming wall, looked it over, and then grabbed a pulley and felt myself get pulled upwards. "Wooooo!"

I was flipped into the air, but Chip grabbed my hand and set me back on track. I gave him a thumbs up, taking his hand and bringing him with me along Chun-Nan weaving a looping road. We were even upside down once! This time around, Chop three his hands in the air and started to cheer compared to trying the shield himself from all the action. I smiled lightly, bounding from spring to spring and wall to wall. When I was high enough, I performed a Sonic Boom in the air (yes, it's possible) and blasted right through several towers of Chun-Nan.

_Don't worry- they already had holes in them! And red hoops…and rings…_

Beyond the small community was an area between the mountains. Rock walls towered over us as we ran by. I rushed over water a few times- so fast I was able to "grind" it without sinking nearly crashed into a wall, and…nearly ran into a spear?

"Huh! There's a lethal weapon in the middle of the road!" Chip cried.

"And it almost sliced me in two!" I added, taking quite a few steps back and going around. We disregarded it as a freak accident until we found more spears pierced into the ground and even some flying out of nowhere to hit us!

"We're being attacked by savages!" panicked Chip.

"No, it must be some kind of ancient booby trap…"

"OooOooOOOoo…"

Luckily with my quick reflexes, we weren't accidentally impaled or anything, but it was awfully dangerous- even for me! Eventually we got past "Spearing Alley" as Chip had called it, and I was suddenly hurdling over boxes. I did some fancy side-stepping moves to maneuver around anything I couldn't jump over (i.e. large red buildings) then tried to use a spring to get a cross a large gap.

_Too bad we weren't going to make it-_

"Sonic! We're not going to make it!" Chip shouted, gripping for dear life and making me cringe. "And I don't think Chun-Nan has any whales either!"

I gulped too- we were going to plunge into water! I at least had Chip as a life line when I fell- now we were going to go down together! I prepared to fall through a red loop…but it was as if an invisible trampoline was in the middle and it bounced us back up!

Chip cried out in glee, "YES! We're not gonna die! I can eat chocolate once more!"

"Chocolate? You escape death, and you think about chocolate."

He just shrugged. "Sorry!"

I rolled my eyes and let it go- I'd probably be saying the same thing about chili dogs.

As soon as we were safe again- not that we were ever in danger, apparently- I was off. I ran off a ramp, spiraled through a rainbow ring, and once again nearly had my nose shot off by a spear. What were the odds?

"This road is trying to kill us somehow!" "And I thought it was better than nighttime…"

I carefully made my way down to another section of road via…"barrier loops?" and was on the alert for more uncalled for flying projectiles. Nothing came, luckily, so I trashed a robot, ran a ramp, shot through hoops like a cannonball, and "grinded" on Chun-Nan's water. I returned to higher ground by targeting another robot. The area up there was full of pink cherry blossom trees, their petals and blossoms falling softly to the ground in the breeze. The sight was nice to watch, but suddenly I realized I had crossed the Goal Ring- it was in a small pavilion under all the pastel-pink trees.

"Whoa…is that it already? Man, I'm good!" I asked, staring off into space. Chip climbed off my back and took a look around.

"Huh…" he picked up a tablet fragment with the red jewel and gave me a nod. "Yeah, that's it. Bummer, huh? It feels like we just got here…"

_True. Very true…_

I stopped and pondered the situation. Then, I smirked. "Hey Chip? Are you hungry?"

"Boy am I! But, why do you ask?"

"Remember the elder's grandson? He works at the restaurant in the village! We can grab a bite to eat there then head back to Spagonia!"

Chip's mouth started watering at the sound of food and start rubbing his stomach. "Oh yeah… the very thought sounds delicious! Are we going to take the way back now that we've got our tablet?"

I shook my head. "No. We're taking the long way around- you wanna race?"

"Me? Race you? I'll lose!"

"Not necessarily. I've got the advantage on the ground, but in the sky, I'm no match for you!"

_That was how I always got Tails to race with me when he was younger. Now he races me because he's actually a worthy opponent!_

"Well, when you put in that way…it can't really hurt, can it?"

"Cool!" I got down and started doing some stretches, Chip deciding to do the same. After wards, we walked around behind the pavilion, revealing a whole new path just waiting to be ran out.

Chip struck a pose and asked, "Ready?"

I gave a single nod. "Here we go!"

And we bolted- this was sure to be interesting.

* * *

**Next chapter is SO much more fun! :D And then the one after that... ^^**


	25. Buns, Races, and Smiley Faces

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Our race began on the Great Wall of Chun-Nan. Apparently, it was in the back yard of that pavilion. I didn't dare go as fast as I could- that wouldn't be fair to Chip at all- but I definitely wasn't going to let him win either. He had a pretty determined face on, so I at least knew he was going to try. I had taken the time to run a ramp, sending me into the air, allowing Chip to gain a slight lead. But by the time I returned to the ground, I was a blur again and right on Chip's tail.

"Nice place, huh?"

"Yeah…"

We zoomed under a few ruins, and then as Chip continued down the main road, I found a secret spring that took me to a hidden grind rail. Chip looked back to see if I was behind him.

"Cool! I'm winning!"

"Not for long!" I teased as I crouched, waving to him casually. He made a face then shot off like a purple bullet. I whistled- he had some decent speed, that was for sure. I lost track of him after that- I was too busy flipping from rail to rail to prevent myself from falling. When I returned to the road, I had taken such a massive shortcut that I couldn't even see Chip anymore.

_Poor guy- I left him in the dust._

I continued without a care, until I heard munching over my head and crumbs starting to fall in my quills. I glanced up- Chip was floating above me munch on a chocolate bar!

"How'd you catch up! ?" I asked incredulously.

"Like this…" Chip flew up, and then charged through the center of several loops in the air, helping him considerably. "I hardly have to worry!"

"You can't beat me that easily!" I protested, quickening my pace. We both ended up in the air due to a sudden road-out, but looking forward, we were headed for the real Dragon Road- a road in the form of a dragon.

_How cheesy. _

"Sweet!" we shouted at the same time, eagerly battling each other for the top spot. I disappeared in a blue blur, going along with the road, while Chip took a small hop of the edge and flew straight downward. I watched as he shot through another ring, then took out three robots by himself with one chocolate bar- and it wasn't even frozen.

"He's got some spunk!" I admitted to no one in particular, attempting to catch up. I blasted over three Boost Pads and went spiraling through a loop in the road. This led me a shortcut, as I caught Chip out of the corner of my eye taking a longer route. I twisted and turned through the dragony path, Chip's jaw dropping as he saw my aftermath streak over his head. Now I was in the lead…at least, until I reached some oddly of place turn-table things.

"What the heck…" I muttered, trying not to fall. Chip gave a taunting laugh as he flew right on by, bypassing the obstacle. I narrowed my eye ridges and spin dashed over the hindrances. They weren't getting in _my_ way! Chip had stopped to gaze at an eagle flying by, but even that small detail didn't allow me to get ahead of him again. I slammed into a spring, rocketing to the next area.

"I didn't know you were so clever Chip!" I called when he was an earshot distance from me.

"Neither did I!" he shouted back. I watched him fly…until he plummeted right over the edge. When I caught up with him, he was grinding a rail! Flabbergasted, I jumped on too and couldn't for the life of me figure out just how _he_ was doing that.

I heard him exclaim, "This is so cool!"

"It is, isn't it?" I replied, having to hide a smirk. We both hopped the rails a few times, ending up with me being a few steps behind Chip rather than the previous large gap. We ended up on a tiny island, and then we both flew over water, each in our own ways. The splashes from my footsteps repeatedly hit Chip, and he ended up flying higher up. Again, I lost track of him, which was actually good for me because I had to work on not screwing up and sinking.

_There was no way I was going through another one of those episodes…_

I somehow drifted around a building, despite bring on water, and if that wasn't enough, there were the equivalent of Viking ships making their way down the river. I had to dodge those too! Looking up, I saw Chip skipping easily over the roof of the ships, not giving them or me a second thought.

"Oh, come ON!" I would've thrown my hands in the air, but balance was of the essence.

Next thing I knew, I was in the air, headed for a loop, and then a new portion of the road.

"How the…all I did was blink and now this happens?"

_Maybe I should stop blinking…_

"…you're still not going to win!"

"We'll see, since you're not really living up to being fastest thing alive!" was the cheerful reply. I turned red and gritted my teeth, flying forward, causing a Sonic Boom, and sending a whole dome of water over the surrounding area.

"Now you've awaken my competitive side! I was going easy on you before!"

Chip avoided my tsunami at the last moment, suddenly increasing in his speed. Naturally, it was nothing to my Sonic Boom (which completely blew him off course) but he'd be back. I knew it.

_And now I was serious!_

Once I semi-slowed down, I noticed the path led to a really large tower, but there was no way to tell if the road actually led there. I wasn't going to ponder over it- there was the more concerning problem of where the heck did I blast Chip off to?

"Chip? Chip?"

"Is this one of your tricks?"

"…no."

"Oh. Okay. See ya!"

"HUH? !"

I heard Chip laugh madly as he flew off my back and several steps ahead of me. He was with me the entire time! How'd he do that! ?

"Wha-"

"You didn't even notice me!" he laughed, bounding off the heads of three robots and going higher. I was so stunned, I plowed right into one of those robots (and didn't realize I was right next to that odd tower, not that it matters) and started stumbling. Chip turned around and gave me a cheeky grin, which turned into stricken fear as I rushed up behind him.

"Come back here!"

"Ahhh! Not with that tone!"

I chased him through a loop in the road, then shot myself out of a cannon too. Chip gained a head start, due to the simple fact he could fly, and I was forced to wait until I hit the ground to gain anymore speed. Chip swerved under me as I jumped over him, heading straight through a red loop and started to fall toward the ground again. I hit a convenient spring, following Chip to another "dragon road". I jumped on the grind rail, he flew the road, and together we twisted and wove our way around. Naturally, I got back on the real road first, but he bounced off my head and took off flying way out of my reach!

"Not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war-"

"This isn't war!…or love!"

I heard Chip snicker at my comment while heading over to the next area, I jumped down through a line of ring, bounded off a spring, then spiraled into the air to gain a small boost. That didn't help, because I had to use arrows jetting out of a vertical road to continue while Chip just flew over it.

_Wow- I might actually lose!_

He was already tearing down the next dragon road when I got there, but I quickly caught up by boosting myself. I was right on Chip's heels when we reached another set of turntables. This time, I had the advantage as I cut through the air by spin dashing anything I could hit. Chip was left in the dust in no time!

_Guess the tables turned that time!_

When I reached the other side, I ran straight into a firework rocket, and instead of letting go, I clung tight!

"Wait for me!" Chip wailed, zipping over and grabbing the other side. "I almost thought you'd leave me!"

"I wouldn't do that- but we're, oh you know…strapped to a firework!"

We exchanged glances before yelling out in actual fear. The rocket's fuse lit up, and a small high-pitched sound made our ears ring while we started blasting off. We kept screaming until the sound got louder and louder and right before we exploded I grabbed Chip and finally jumped off, freefalling as a green fireworks burst in the sky above us.

"That was close…" Chip commented, falling back first so he could watch the spectacle.

"Tell me about it… good thing we didn't hang on too much longer!"

_Or maybe not…_

I looked down- endless circles of spike balls were right in our path!

"We're going to get spiked to death!"

"We are not-"

"WHOA!"

"Just stay in the middle!"

Chip, however, ignored my instructions and started zipping around like a fly, performing ninja moves to avoid the obstacles while I just kept falling. I landed on another turntable when I remembered- we were still racing!

"Catch ya later!"

"What-"

I rolled up into a ball and started bounding from one table to another like a rock skipping across water. Chip wasn't too far behind, and before either of us knew it, we were attached to another firework.

_What's next- sparklers falling from the sky?_

Again, I let go right before it exploded, rushing over a boost pad that happened to be there. The firework soared over our heads and detonated into another green-red flash. We gasped in awe as we jetted around a corner, falling down a few steps, and hearing metal clanking behind us.

"Oh cool- a robot to trounce!" I exclaimed, not as sarcastic as I wanted it to be.

"Doesn't that mean we're getting to the end, though?"

_Darn it._

"Oh well!" I called, jumping over a laser as it was shot. I rolled to the other side, not missing a beat. I knew how these stupid contraptions of Eggman played! It let out a mechanical roar, lifting up its massive arms and tearing a building up and tossing it into the air.

Chip's eyes widened and started cowering behind me. "Wh-OA!"

"Aw, he's just showing off!" I shrugged.

"Like you?"

"That's different."

I hurdled over a bomb that was lying in the road while avoiding another laser. This robot was a bit smarter than the previous ones. It lasers started following me, and one ever hit me in the ankle, causing me to trip!

"There's no way to attack this is there?" I asked to no one in particular. I cart wheeled away from another mine, which was blown up by a laser. Typical. Finally, I ran under a narrow bridge, causing the robot's wide shoulders to get stuck, and me to escape with only a minor injury. And better yet- we wound up back at the village. I just looked at Chip, who already looked back in return.

"Looks like it was a tie!" we both cried at the same time. Then, we hurried down to the main part of the village.

. . . . . .

"Well, that was pretty exciting, huh?" Chip asked, once we got there. We made instant tracks for the restaurant, where Tails was walking out eating some noodles. We walked over- he instantly noticed us and waved.

"Oh hey! You're back- get anything?" Tails asked, slurping down his latest bite.

"Just another tablet fragment-" I began.

"Adorned with a red jewel!" finished Chip.

"We were just about to head in to grab ourselves a bite to eat…" I explained, glancing down at his noodles.

"Oh really? Well- you still can! Don't let ME stop you- I've already eaten, as you can see…I suppose I should've waited until you got back."

I shook my head. "Nah, you deserved to go out and do something while we picked all these planet pieces or whatever. We won't be long- just a quick bit of chow and we can head back to…Spagonia, I think. We had better go talk to the professor again."

Tails nodded. "Okay. I'm all right with that. I'll go get the Tornado all warmed up!"

I saluted him with two fingers while walking in the door. "See ya soon, Tails!" Chip flew in behind me, trying to take in as much scent of food as he could before he needed to take a breath.

"Oh it smells so HEAVENLY in here!" he sighed.

"I'll say! I hope the food's as good as it smells!" I replied, sitting down at a two seated table. The elder's grandson quickly ran up to us, not even allowing us to tell us what we want, let alone pay, and within the same moment somehow managed to whipped up plates of noodles, won tons, rice, and a tin of bun-cakes that smelled twice as good up close and personal. We ignored the buns at first- me dishing into the won tons while Chip started gobbling down the plates of rice.

"And you don't have to pay a single ring!" our waiter giggled. "Anything for saving my grandfather!"

I, with my mouth full and cheeks puffed out to the max, just gave a thumbs up and reached for the chopsticks in a plate of noodles.

"You have some great cooking!" Chip stated, taking a won ton for himself then nearly fainted from the flavor. "OOOOO-"

"Take it easy there, Chip." I said with a hiccup, pointing a chopstick at him. "I don't want you to explode from too much food intake-"

"BUT IT'S SO GOOD! And it doesn't even have chocolate!"

I just gave a small chuckle and slurped up a noodle.

_No wonder Tails had gotten them- they were delicious!_

One by one, our plates rapidly emptied, until they were suddenly stacked in high towers beside us. The grandson quickly swooped over and took some away, planning to come back for a second trip. That's when we realized we'd forgotten about the buns- Chip eagerly took one, bit into it, then I watched as his eyes get wide.

"Yum."

I raised an eyebrow as I grabbed for one too, popping it into my mouth. I froze also.

"Wow."

**Seconds later-**

"Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom!"

Crumbs and chopsticks were flying around in a blur as Chip and I literally_ devoured _that tin of treats. When it started to get empty, we both sat back in our chairs to take a brief rest. I forced the last bite of my cake in, then sighed.

"That's good cooking…"

"I told you! So, I guess I'll just take the last bun and-"

"Wait, there's one more?" I asked, peering into the tin. Sure enough- one sat smack dab in the middle.

"Yeah, but I'll just-"

"Well maybe I want it!"

Our eyes narrowed as the grandson tripped over a gong in the background. We both slowly leaned forward, ready to nab that bun like a pack of hungry sharks after a goldfish. Our chopsticks chopped with anxiousness. Then, we both flew at the tin in the middle, our chopsticks slamming down on the innocent bun as fast as psychically possible. My grip was tight, since I was quite fluent with using chopsticks-

_I have a natural knack, okay? Nothing wrong with that…_

-but Chip wasn't, and the sticks were nearly as tall as him, so he had to use two arms to pull at his bun while I just stood intently, clinging on to that bun for dear life with only one hand. Chip knew that bun wasn't coming loose anytime soon, so he frantically pointed behind me as if to point out that Dr. Eggman was strolling in for some eggnog.

"Huh?" I pretended to fall for his trickery, adjusting my grip on the sticks so that there was no way he could possibly snag them from me. I heard him grunt in agony as I started smirking and pretending to search. When he lost his focus for a split second-

"_Ha hah!"_ I pumped my fist then swooped my hand with the sticks away from Chip so furiously, that it took the bun, the tin, _and_ Chip with it. I tossed him off, and I nearly had it in my mouth when his sticks suddenly snapped at the bun, motivation for food suddenly taking over. I moved- he moved. I went up-he snapped up back. When ended up tugging on the cake until Chip's sticks snapped, causing me to accidentally throw mine- and the bun!

"AAUGH!" We wailed out, shoving each other out of the way for the delicacy. Being the fastest thing alive, I dashed for it, hand extended. Chip, however, apparently really wanted it, because he jumped on my head and had the nerved to shove me out of the way!"

"HIYAAAHHH!" "WAAAAAAAAA-"

Everything went into slow motion as I began to fall to the floor, Chip flying up with his mouth watering and catching the bun in his mouth, like a frog snapping up a fly. He got so lost in the flavor that he closed his eyes as he gulped it, forgetting the fact that he needed to fly…and landed head first in a pot.

I got up from the floor walked over, looked at the pot…and broke down laughing.

"Ha ha ha ha ha hahaha!" I grabbed my stomach from laughing so hard, unable to do anything but point and chuckle. Chip struggled to break free of his confident, only to end up with his whole body in the pot. I just kept laughing. I laughed until my sides hurt. I laughed until I almost couldn't breathe. I laughed until I felt tears roll down my face. I haven't felt this good even before the Were-hog incident!

There was no doubt about it- I was back. There are two things you can do in life- either dig yourself so low that it doesn't matter what anyone does, or build yourself so high that no one can knock you down.

_Guess which one I chose?_

* * *

**At long last, and like 24 chapters and over a year, Sonic is back to his normal self! (and no longer somewhat insane. :P)Woo! Alright, new motivation for this story, let's get to work! *starts typing future chapters***


	26. Not a Bad Toy

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Once I freed Chip from his potted doom, he was pretty mad -since I couldn't stop laughing- but I just told him in between giggles that it was karma for eating my bun. We discussed the incident all the way back to the Tornado, where Tails watched us approach with wide eyes.

"Uh, you two okay?"

"Hahaha, you'll never believe it Tails!" I said, hopping on the wing. "We were fighting over a piece of food-"

"I already can't believe it…" he said with a smirk, starting up the plane as I started up laughing again.

"That's not the best part- Chip got caught in a _pot!"_

"And he was laughing like a loon the whole time!" Chip threw in.

"Ha ha, at least it wasn't to one of my daydreams!" I chuckled.

Tails gave a wide smile as we took off for Spagonia.

"Wow Sonic- you certainly are chipper!" he exclaimed. I just shrugged and held my hands behind my head.

"Yeah- I guess I am! I dunno- maybe I _was_ just stressed or something, but now I feel like I'm on top of the world!"

"I feel like I ate enough food to last a trip around the world!" Chip groaned.

"That's good, because I don't think we can afford any more stops!"

I glanced down at Tails. "What do you mean?"

"Well, not to ruin your mood, but Eggman's been spotted back in Spagonia!" Tails explained. My grin didn't falter.

"That? A bad thing? There'll be nothing better than strolling up to that Eggman and beating his contraptions senseless with me and revamped attitude!"

Now Chip was impressed. "That's great Sonic! Now you're not all obsessed with him turning you into a Werehog or anything like-"

Tails gave Chip a warning look, but I just kept grinning and pounded a fist into my palm. "I don't have time to worry about that anymore. Nighttime comes, whether I like it or not, and instead of allowing it to run me over, I'd rather run with it- but then still, I wouldn't let it catch me."

Tails and Chip said nothing more about the subject for the rest of the trip.

. . . . . . . .

"Ah, I've been expecting you, Sonic…you've done a fine job collecting tablet fragments." Pickle said when we entered the lab. I nodded, as if I was expecting him to say that, and Amy Rose eagerly came running up next to him.

"Yeah, I was waiting for you too, of course!"

"Of course, of course…"

Chip excitedly flew around Amy's head. "Yeah, and now Sonic's feeling all better and everything so we can get the planet back together a lot faster!"

I seriously turned to Professor Pickle. "Tails tells me Eggman's in the area?"

Pickle nodded. "We don't have time to waste. Go and open the door immediately. And pay Otto a visit. He may provide some assistance. I was surprised Otto was a guardian, and I've known him so long…"

_So much for no time to waste…_

"It was because of him, in fact, I embarked on a research career. Funny how friendships can be so influential. Right, then, go see Otto!"

As Tails went to go grab a book and Chip and I turned to head out the door, Amy suddenly tackled me from behind and shrieked, "Good luck Sonic! Don't get hurt or anything, okay?"

I sighed. "All right, I won't get hurt…"

"I only say that because I'm afraid its going to get tougher here on out, you know…"

I struck a pose, despite fact she was still dangling from my neck. "I'll try not to worry about that…"

She finally let go, and I waved to everyone on my way out. Chip had grabbed a quite cucumber sandwich and followed me shortly.

_How could he eat that when we just had that feast in Chun-Nan…?_

"I wonder who conceived the idea to use tablets as keys. Quite clever!" Amy exclaimed as she joined Tails in researching. Tails just shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe one of these books will tell us…"

"Ah, it warms my heart to see young folk take interest in history…" Pickle sighed. "Sandwich, anyone?"

"Yes, please!" "Why not? I had a light lunch…"

. . . . . . .

"Okay, Otto- here we go!" I called, jogging down the streets of Spagonia. Robots lined the sidewalks, which was yet another sign of Eggman's lingering, so I took them out before they could hurt anyone.

"I imagine you heard all about tablets from the professor, hm?" Otto asked, once we located him not too far away from the shrine. I shrugged in response to his question.

"I guess you could say that…"

"Then if you'd be so kind as to hand over your tablet fragments…" Chip handed Otto our fragments, and he quickly got to work piecing them together.

"Here- a tablet to open the temple door!"

I accepted it, thanked him, then ran by him to head to the temple. Both the Sun Door and the Moon Door were gone…meaning that the only door left was the Star Door, also meaning that was the area of Spagonia Eggman was rampaging in. I gave a nod to Chip, who flew up and used his orb's power to open the door, yet again. We exchanged a high five for good luck before we took off.

. . . . . . .

"Come on out, Eggman!" I boomed, rushing down the road over water the Star Door led us to. Everything seemed too peaceful for comfort, and Chip and I searched around for anything suspicious. Though suddenly out of nowhere there was this massive whooshing noise that made my heart skip a beat. Glancing to my left, there was this scorpion-fish robot that I could hardly identify, being auto piloted by white android. I narrowed my eyes.

"Where's Eggman…"

_I had wanted to beat Eggman- not anymore of his little creations!_

Lost in thought, I was promptly zapped by a laser, sending me darting to the right. Chip flew down to try and help me, but I shook my head.

"Stay out of the way, Chip, I've got this! Trust me!"

Chip held up his hands and quickly flew away. "All right, all right! You won't even know I'm here!"

"I just don't want you getting hurt!"

Another laser just missed me again and, again, I sprung out of the way. This battle was definitely going to have some WAY too close shaves.

"How do you like that?" Eggman's automatic voice mocked. I frowned. It wouldn't be fun to talk smack back if he wasn't really there. Pushing that aside, I ran faster, getting face to face with the Egg Devil. I was all ready to attack, until I realized a shield was protecting its weak point.

"Oh, GREAT-"

I cart wheeled to the right as another laser clipped off another couple quills of mine. And for a split second, the shield was down.

"YAH!"

I bashed into it full speed, sending it flying into the air and landing a ways away. The machine picked itself up then moved to the side of the bridge we were battling on. A few of the "extra" lasers it had positioned themselves in a straight line, then started to rotated. I waved through them while the main Ray started shooting at me!

_What gives!_

I did a matrix flip to avoid all projectiles and landed back on my feet. Ducking under the "line", the Devil Ray fired out small fireballs. I scoffed.

"Is that really the best you can do? Eggman obviously hasn't learned- him controlling robots is one thing, but robots controlling a robot? Sad, sad…"

I was hit in the face with said fireball.

_Even robots can have grudges…_

Shaking it off, I leapt through the middle of the "line" then within the same second crashed into the Egg Devil Ray with a spin dash. I made it flip again -shoot, was I THAT strong?- and the metal scarped along the stone road. It made my ears twitch. Aside from the noise irritating my hearing, I just watched as the machine picked itself up once again. You could tell just by looking at it that it was quite banged up. Taking the chance, I ran faster, hoping to plow into it and make it crash again. However, this was countered by the fact those robots launched the laser closest to me…and I ran into it.

"Ha. Ha. Ha."

I growled, flashing my fangs and I veered away from the laser. Scorched. Ow.

"You think that's funny?"

The robots instantly stopped laughing once I bulldozed into their precious ride once again, then went berserk with my spin dashes, cracking against the windows and denting metal. I heard robotic screaming coming from the inside, which made me grin a little, but I was still stuck in the destruction rampage. The Egg Devil Ray started going up in smoke! A suddenly spin sent me flying back onto the ground, but without missing a beat I jumped back up and started running again.

Chip, meanwhile, was cringing on the sidelines, wanting to ask if I was okay quite a few times, but his will to say that was overruled by his loyalty to me. I waved at him to show that I was perfectly fine. He seemed satisfied with that and smiled. I grinned back, only to bend over backward to avoid another round of rotating lasers.

_One word: JEEZ!_

I front flipped over another oncoming one, ducked under another…it was mainly a game of jump and duck until I could target the front of the Egg Devil with my homing attack.

"YAH!"

"Aaaaah."

One fateful kick was enough to send the metal monster flying back a good amount of feet, Chip cheering and me striking again with a quick flip and more contact with my foot. I could practically hear the androids inside begging for mercy! The Egg Devil Ray was almost beaten- just one more excellent strike would do the trick!

"All right! This is it!"

The robots had a feeling I was getting ready to strike again, so they quickly upped their defense by putting up a shield…which I also crashed into. Lying in a daze on the ground, I got the terrible feeling that a laser was targeting me dead on.

"Roll, Sonic!" cried Chip and the top of his little lungs. Responding almost instantly, I tumbled away as a zap mark was created where I once was. Brrr… I noticed that we were at the very edge of Spagonia by the surroundings- we were almost back in Apotos, by the looks of it!

"It's almost like this robot is leading me away…" I mused to myself. Well, it didn't matter. I could always run back whenever, now that the continents were starting to come back together. And I would bet 20 rings this piece of scrap metal would be nothing before we even made it out of the city anyway.

Snapping back into action, my eyes widened. Behind the shield was this…20-laser cannon thing, and it was currently charging up!

"Whuh oh-"

ZING!

I just made it out of the way by the very skin of my teeth, my heart pounding against my chest.

_That thing was going to blow me across the planet!_

"That's it! Playtime's over!"

I charged straight at the Egg Devil Ray, not caring if another blast was preparing to be launched. This meaningless fight had gone on long enough, and it was time to end it! I closed my eyes, not really sure what would happen when I struck…

The next thing I knew, I heard a loud crash, and explosion, a cry of defeat ("Ah! Annihilation! What happened?")…I saw smoke arise from the remains of the Egg Devil Ray, Chip flying up to me, and the ground right in front of my face…and I felt victorious, though also a lot of pain.

_But pain is never permanent…it may go away and come back, but it never lasts forever._

"Whoa…urgh, I think I finished that one off a bit too recklessly…" I chuckled.

"You ran head first into it…" Chip gulped. "It sure looked painful!"

"It was a bit of a headstrong move, huh?"

Chip sighed as I laughed. "Oh, thank goodness! I thought you'd suffer brain damage or something!"

"I've had worse…" I muttered, recalling me falling head first into the ground after falling from space. If I could handle that, everything else was nothing! I pushed myself off of the ground, brushing off dirt like I was just in some playground scuffle. Together we walked up to the exploded remains of the Egg Devil Ray.

"Heh, not a bad toy…" I then glanced up at Chip. "Ready to hit the next Gaia Temple?"

"Uh-huh!"

"…race ya!"

"You're on!"

. . .

Once I marvelously beat Chip to the next Gaia Temple, he flew up to the pedestal and did his thing, causing the part for the Chaos Emerald to raised. I took out the next Chaos Emerald to be revived, this one being my favorite dark blue one, and we watching in awe as the power of the temple brought life back to such a powerful gem. The ground started shaking again (which I completely forgot came next and end up falling onto the pedestal) , which meant that the continent of Spagonia was being restored.

I was happy. We were just about halfway done with our world adventure. Sure, it was far from over, but just the feeling of accomplishment made me feel good! Until I remembered…that the next continent that we'd go to…it'd probably be night there.

_But I had gotten over my fear, wasn't THAT right?_

* * *

**Hoo boy...I need to give this story more attention. :P **

**And to those still reading this, thank you, and I promise to try and get this story back to a more regulated schedule again. ^^**


	27. And We're Back to Darkness

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Maybe Professor Pickle has found a new destination for us right now!" Chip exclaimed, now that we had returned to the capital city. "Time to pay him a visit at his laboratory!"

"Mm…all right. Besides, we'll need Tails to get anywhere anyway," I replied. It didn't take us long to return our "HQ", where, as usual, Tails, Amy, and the professor were having a study session over a plate of (no guesses) cucumber sandwiches…which Chip happily flew over and helped himself to.

"Ah, Sonic, you're timing is perfect!" Pickle exclaimed, hurrying up to me. "Additional study of the Gaia Manuscripts has yielded new information! Your next destination is at the region of frigid snow and ice, Holoska! You must take the next Chaos Emerald to Holoska Temple!"

"And let me guess- considering it's day here it'll be night there?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. Pickle nodded eagerly. Neither Tails, Chip, or Amy said a word about nighttime, in fear of provoking me out of my generally good mood.

_But wasn't my cruddy mood influenced by stress? And I'm not stressed anymore!_

"You should have little trouble getting inside now, my boy. I'm sure you'll have the planet back in no time at this rate!" Pickle continued. "I expect great things from you, my boy!"

"We look forward to hearing good news from you, Sonic!" Amy said excitedly. "I just wish there was more I could do…"

"Ah, don't worry about it Amy! You're doing enough already by helping out Pickle, right?"

Amy thought it over then nodded eagerly, obviously wanting to please me.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and an overly excited, "Ready to go, Sonic?" after that. I turned to Tails and nodded my head.

"Yup! Sure am, buddy!"

"Oh…I wonder what night Holoska is like…" shivered Chip. "The best places for the day always have the worst night areas!"

"Chip!" Tails warned in a hushed tone.

"What? I'm sorry! I'm a chicken! I'm afraid! What if…what if an ice chunk is loose but we can't see it in the dark and we end up slipping and falling and landing in ice cold w-"

"Chocolate!" Amy suddenly cried, pulling a chocolate bar out of a stash of her own. Chip instantly cut off mid-sentence to start gnawing on treat. Tails took the chance to quickly usher me out the door.

"Well, no point in sticking around here any longer- Eggman might be causing trouble there in Holoska or something and we'd better there to stop him, huh?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess…" I trailed, not really sure what was going on. "Uh, hey Chip! We're leaving!"

"-and white chocolate and dark chocolate and German chocolate and this one has caramel and this one has nuts. Take 'em all!" Amy yelped, holding out chocolate bars like they were playing cards. Chip was in heaven.

"Wow! I didn't realize there were flavors of chocolate! Whoa, WOAH!"

"They're all yours as long as you promise to eat them all on the entire way to Holoska, m'kay?"

"No problem there! Nom nom…"

Tails practically dragged me out the door and tossed me into the plane while Amy gave Chip some mint chocolate for good luck. He was definitely keeping his word as he got busy gobbling up on a toffee chocolate bar. I stared at Amy, who just gave me a wide grin, a wave, and a "Return to me, my love! Don't be long!"

After recoiling, I glanced at Tails, who was also seemingly nervous, but way more calm (or at least more able to hide it) than Amy. He also waved to Amy, who waved back, then fired up the Tornado without another word.

"Uh, Tails, something weird going on?" I questioned. Tails shook his head as the plane took off into the sky.

"Of course not Sonic. What would make you say that?" he answered airily. I shrugged.

"You threw me into the Tornado like you were kidnapping me while Amy was stuffing Chip to the brim with chocolate."

Tails just blinked. "Oh, really? I hadn't noticed…sorry if we were rushing you."

"Um, it's okay…"

_Weird. Very weird._

"…and I thought I was the stressed out one!" I chuckled lightly. "Hey Chip! Ready for Holoska? I know you may be a little scared but-"

"Don't mention Holoska. I've got to eat chocolate because Amy told me to."

I recoiled. Even Chip was acting strange! Tails was apparently working very hard to simply focus on driving, while Chip was more or less into that chocolate of his. I just sat down on the wing, thinking. What was up with them?

. . .

I fell asleep on the way there, not that I needed to sleep, and I did _not_ have a nightmare,thank goodness. Apparently the boredom was too overwhelming for me, between Tails' silence and Chip's constant chewing. Chip was still chewing and Tails was still quietly driving when we crossed into Holoska, where the bright sunny day had turned into a dark musty night.

"Whoa…it's even colder here at night!" Tails gasped. "Good thing I've revamped the Tornado to stand up to such conditions, huh Chip?"

"Mpmhnph!"

"Exactly!"

As Tails flew on, he suddenly heard muffled groans. He instantly turned to Chip, thinking he had a stomach ache or something, but Chip was still sitting contently, fudge on his face and now working on devouring the dark chocolate.

"Was that you Chip?"

"Was what me?"

"You moaning?"

"Unless it was moaning because this flavor of chocolate is really good, then no."

"Then who wa-"

Both of their eyes fell on to me, curled up into a ball on the wing, face scrunched in pain. The duo exchanged looks and a high pitched, "Uh-oh…"

"Grr…urgh…unh…"

Chip instantly quivered and dove under the seat while Tails was torn between keeping his eyes on the piloting and me. I rolled onto my back, the pain of transforming making me somewhat aware.

"Hrrr…hrr…RAAAAWWWRRR!"

Tails and Chip both had the same reaction and performed it in unison: "WAAAAAHHH!"

_I haven't been a wolf in a while…_

The darkness expelled out once again, unleashing the beast within. Now I woke up, grabbing my stomach, then turned to see Chip grabbing Tails for dear life.

"Urgh…uh, what's got you two all up in a frenzy?"

"Nothing! Heh heh…"

I started at them both, just to receive two angelic smiles in return.

"Did you do something to me or something along those lines?"

"No!"

"Then why are you two looking like you've committed murder? ! Not to mention acting all suspicious…"

Chip started to say something until Tails covered his mouth and explained for him. "Well, Sonic, you're in your, uh, night form again, and we were kind of afraid that the mood effects that take place with it would kick in or something along _those_ lines which is** completely** crazy-"

"Is that what this is all about? You guys are just concerned I'll stress myself out again?"

"…yes. Definitely yes."

I blinked. "Okay, but do you have to be so secretive about it?"

"Well, we didn't want to provoke you or something," Chip muttered. "And I've had a couple slip ups…"

"I told you guys- I don't have time to worry about nighttime anymore!"

"Are you sure Sonic?" Tails asked. "I mean, I'm glad you're all positive and everything but-"

"He'll be fine," Chip suddenly answered calmly, the orb around his neck glowing. "I can feel it!"

"Holoska will be a cinch, I'm sure! And I heard the skies can be quite pretty at night too!"

Tails sighed while smiling, spotting Holoska's village and heading down to land. "If only everyone was as confident as you, Sonic…"

If only. I wasn't entirely confident that I was confident myself.

_But I was definitely going to try, and in the end, that's what really matters._

…

Once we touched down into Holoska, I instantly could feel Dark Gaia's vibe flood the place. Hopefully the sweet little girl, the caring mother, the elder, and everyone else wouldn't be too effected…

"Where should we start this time, Sonic?" Chip asked.

"I'm thinking we should ask around again…"

Chip's ideal place to search first was the food storage area, where Sarianna was at. She turned away from whatever she was doing to smile at us.

"Oh, we meet again! Listen, I apologize for that odd favor I asked you for last time."

I just waved it off. "It wasn't a problem- I've had odder."

"What brings you here this time?"

"We were wondering if you had any more info on a certain shrine, hmm?" Chip asked suspiciously. I was about to make a comment on Chip's odd question, but Sarianna just laughed.

"Ah, very intuitive of you! Yes, my husband and I are the guardians of the Holoska Temple of Gaia. My husband, Jari-Thure, has the other tablet you'll need to get further in the shrine. But lately he's been acting really strange at night. You'd better try talking to him yourself."

Chip and I traded looks.

_Dark Gaia's influence definitely._

"I wonder how much he's changed…" I pondered, turning around to go hunt down Jari-Thure. "I mean, will he be like the Assistant? The Ice Cream man? Or some other way to be negative?"

"Well, it doesn't matter! We'll find a way to cheer him up!…right?"

I smiled. "Yeah Chip. That's right."

We headed to the storage area, hoping to locate him there once more. Luckily, he was, but he was much more down than before…

"Huh? Oh, it's you. I haven't been able to look my wife in the eye since then. I'm so embarrassed…" he moaned.

"Well, sorry to hear, really…" I murmured, considering I probably made him look worse by popping out of nowhere and doing his job for him, plus the Dark Gaia influence taking over him right now couldn't be dealt with. "…but would you happen to know anything about a tablet?"

"I guess that depends…if you'll listen to my troubles, I just might have something like that for you."

"Um, okay…"

"Ever since my wife found out what happened, she's been calling me a big chicken. Here I am, one of the guardians of the temple…but I let everybody down. Say, what do you think? You don't think I'm a big chicken, do you?"

I shook my head. "Nah, you're a fine, understanding man!"

"Uh-huh!" threw in Chip.

Jari-Thure instantly gained his confidence back.

_Wow, a few encouraging words CAN work magic!_

He stopped sagging and stood straight, folding his arms while smiling boldly. "You think? Ha ha ha! Right? That's what I said! I'm no chicken! You're a good guy. I'm feeling more confident already! Thanks a lot! Oh, and here you go…"

He handed me the Fourth Continent's Moon Tablet, which Chip took and entertained himself with. I thank Jari-Thure right back, and headed for the shrine.

"Oh, I see you have the tablet," Sarianna stated as we passed her. "The shrine is right over there. Be careful!"

_Me. Nighttime. Careful. That's at the top of the list!_

"No worries- I know the way," I said back, continuing the trek there.

The weird thing was…I was actually kinda looking forward to nighttime! I know I thought the same about Spagonia- at one brief point, anyway- but this time, I was actually looking forward to it! The last night escapade- ha, I had managed to cheat death several times! Sure, a dark force had taken over my body and possibly unleashed something I would've preferred to keep hidden, but hey, I was going to do it with my head held high!

. . .

"Wow Sonic, we sure cheered that guy up right quick!" Chip exclaimed as he floated over to the now glowing Moon Door.

"Yeah, I don't think he was under Dark Gaia's influence as much as some of the other people we've seen…"

The door glowed even brighter with Chip's presence, the floating creature glancing over his shoulder at me.

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

I shrugged. "I was up for it even when I didn't want to be up for it. I think I'm ready to go now!"

"M'kay…"

The orb around his neck went through the now normal routine, unlocking the door that lead to the cold, wintry depths of nighttime Holoska. I could feel the frozen winds brush through my fur, sending chills up my spine with the slightest touch.

I took a step forward- the longer I stalled, the longer I'd be stuck in the cold…

* * *

** I say "faster updates" and I stall for nearly a month. :P Good news is that I was working hard on this story during that time. ^^**


	28. Not Snow Bad After All

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

As far as the eye could see- snowfields. I didn't know if the horizon was really a horizon or just even more blankets of snow. One thing I could make out for sure was the beautiful aurora-light sky up above. It made the cold night almost bearable to be in…almost.

"Okay Chip, let's get to work…" I trailed, my teeth chattering uncontrollably.

_Even with my fur, I was still cold. I wish I could just run it off at least, but I can't._

A small camp was just ahead, including an igloo and a small fire. That fire looked so inviting…and warm…but there was no time to waste. Although, I have to admit, it didn't help when Chip flew above the flames to get nice and toasty.

"If I can't be warm, neither can you," I huffed, stretching my arm over, grabbing Chip, and pulling him to my side

"Aw, Sonic…"

"Hey! If we're lucky, as soon as we get out of here, the next place we go will be much, much hotter. I'll probably be craving the sun again when we leave Holoska."

"You always crave the sun during nighttime!" Chip chirped lightheartedly.

"Well, this time I crave it for a different reason."

I got down on all fours and broke out into a sprint, dashing up the side of a snowy cliff. The small run itself was peaceful, and very quiet. What surprised me the most was that no Nightmares had arrived to attempt to kick my butt.

_And I may have just jinxed myself._

I rocketed over a miniature snow bridge, and out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of another small fire, but this one wasn't a part of a small camp- it was just there. While I was mesmerized in the alluring sight of the fire, the rest of my body that wasn't paying attention to anything in particular slammed into an ice wall!

"Oomph! Well, wasn't expecting that…"

"It does look sort of cool though!" exclaimed Chip, poking at the ice mass. "It's like a giant crystal!"

"A giant crystal that will be no more!"

I revved up my fists, plowing the right one smack into the center of the wall, making parts crack and the top half shatter completely. Upon pounding my left fist into it, the wall broke completely. A piece of ice landed into Chip's grasp. He stared at it, then started licking it like a popsicle and floated on. I chuckled lightly, running right alongside him, further into Holoska.

And right after collecting a few sets of rings that I did need and another ice wall later, was the first battle of the area.

_A great way to start off a battle is to be struck in the head!_

That was only because a Pest jumped out of nowhere and latched onto my head from behind. I grabbed it and slammed it into the ground, defeating it easily because while its strength and health stayed the same, mine had grown quite a lot by now. Fortunately, any other monster that appeared turned out to be a Pest as well- they only proposed a threat when they ganged up on me, yet they were still quickly dispatched.

_The battling…it was almost natural now._

Once I cleared them all out, the force fields went down.

"Wow, looks like nighttime is giving you a break!" Chip exclaimed.

I shrugged, then stretched out my arm and grabbed onto the edge of a cliff. "Too bad they can't all be this simple!"

I pulled myself up, jumped to the top of the cliff, then carefully scanned my surroundings. I wasn't about to caught off guard again. As soon as I was sure that nothing was going to happen (at the moment), I tore down the path, into a dense area of snowy cliffs.

_This particular night…it was very peaceful. It was sort of nice._

So far, I had to admit that this night was very silent and still, especially compared to the previous places I'd been. It may have been a somewhat desolate, cold, wasteland, but it still surprised me that there wasn't even a_ bit _more activity.

"Hey Chip, what're you thinking so far?" I asked, bounding up the side of yet another cliff and preparing to break through yet another ice wall. However, when I glanced up at him, he was glancing at something else with fear.

_I hope my thoughts and ponderings haven't jinxed me again._

Two snow-blowing fans suddenly fell from nowhere, and almost instantly took aim directly at me. I was hoping I could break through the ice before I was struck by anything, but the very moment the ice shattered, a heavy chill rocketed up my spine and literally froze me solid.

"Whoa!" Chip gaped. I struggled to break free of my icy imprisonment, which was difficult considering I was in the crosshairs of two different frost machines! When I finally managed to break free, I socked both the machines with well-placed punches then took off running. I didn't dare look back, just in case I would have turned right into another blast of ice. Though I probably should have at least kept looking forward…

"Sonic! Watch o-"

"URGH!"

_Was I really just run-over by a huge ball of crystal-clear ice?_

"Didn't see that coming more or less…" I murmured, pulling my face out of the snow and limping to a 20-Ring stashed over to the side. Turning back toward the path, I caught sight of another round of "ice boulders" rolling down from higher ground.

_And once again, I was struck._

"Sonic, are you okay?"

I couldn't reply- I was too busy staggering around grabbing my head. Chip luckily got me to move forward by pushing my back, moving me forward out of the line of fire. However, he also pushed me straight into another battle area while I was still discombobulated.

After that, I found myself slumped against a wall.

_I definitely jinxed myself somewhere down the road._

"Urgh…" I had enough senses at the moment to catch that a witch has done that to me, and I was going to make sure that it was all she was going to do! Besides, witches were annoying. I waited for the right moment, then pounced at the witch, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to the ground. After that it was a barrage of slashes and pounds, doing a ton of damage. Right before I killed her off, I was struck with another blast of magic- and I found out there were two witches! Again. Not to mention the floating red Pests and the one Nightmare that explodes if you attack…

"Well, looks like I've got my hands full!" I snickered, bracing myself. "You guys feel like going out with a bang?"

My response was a ton of attacks directed at me, me avoiding them all with a well-timed double jump. I reached down and struck the explosive creature on its side with my powerful fist, causing it to become enraged and prepare an explosion. Not missing a beat, I grabbed it, then held onto it for a few seconds.

"Hey! Catch!" I cried, chucking the orb at one of the witches- who was luckily surrounded by the other enemies. As soon at it touched the witch, it detonated, taking all my opponents down except for the second witch. She also apparently seemed pretty mad that I pulled such a clever trick like that. I also knew that she'd conjure up more bad guys to waste my time, so I hastily plowed a punch to her gut, grabbed her with my other hand, and tossed her into thin ice that was formed on the ground. She crashed right through it and fell onto a bed of spikes that I didn't even know were tucked in there. Needless to say, she was no more.

"That was pretty darn epic!" cried Chip, breaking the tension of the moment. I did have to admit- I was proud of my work as well. The force fields went down, and beyond one of them was a Goal Ring- which completely took me by surprise.

"We're a third done already? Wow- maybe Holoska isn't as bad as I thought it would be!" Chip exclaimed.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Chip," I replied with wide eyes, walking over and jumping into the ring.

. . .

The next path through the snowy region was lit by glowing torches, leading the way through the night. The light from the fire reflected against the snow, making it sparkle. I glanced at it as I walked by- soft, simple, serene.

_Holoska at nighttime was very scenic. 'Nuff said._

I bounced up the side of another snow wall, grabbing onto the ledge and pulling myself up. A 5-ring was resting to the side of another ice wall. As I grabbed it, I simultaneously swung my left fist over and smashed it straight into the wall, leaving it in shattered shambles.

"And you say Holoska was going to hard," I chuckled as I walked through the newly accessible archway. Chip gave a nervous sort-of shrug.

"I dunno Sonic…you do have a tendency to counteract yourself."

I rolled my eyes, pulling myself to the top of another cliff. I had a comeback planned, but Chip's cautiousness had seemingly disappeared as he chased snowflakes around in an attempt to catch them on his tongue. As amusing as it was to watch, I had to keep going. The next area I needed to get to could only be reached…by navigating poles over a large chasm.

_Oh, this should be good._

"I'm over it…I'm over it…" I mentally repeated to myself as I got closer.

"Ha! I goth one!" cheered Chip upon catching a frozen water droplet on his tongue, throwing his hands up in triumph. I tried not to let that distract me as I grabbed onto the first pole.

_Shooooot, was it ever cold! And a tiny bit slippery…_

The mere touch of the pole practically expelled heat away from my body, but there wasn't much I could about that. My teeth now chattering, I inched to the other side of the first pole, then leapt for the second. Thank goodness that there were only two… I forced myself not to look down, trying to reach the other side of the chasm while fighting off my violent shivers. When I neared the ledge of the next area, I sprung off the pole, but just barely missed my destination, and constantly clawed at the ground until I was clinging to the cold ledge. Yelping, I pulled myself up and quickly rolled away.

"Ehh…that was TOO close…"

Chip caught up with me, apparently trying to see if he could build a small snowman on the tip of his tongue. I would have tried to explain how that wasn't quite possible, but with my teeth rapidly banging against each other,** that** wasn't possible. Rounding the corner, a few torches lit the way, which I hung around by until I felt heat circulate through my body once again.

"So…warm…" I sighed soothing, rubbing my hands together.

"I caught anoder one! Look Saw-nik!"

"Heh heh, I see Chip…"

Once I felt a lot more toasty, I kept going. I'm guessing my efforts to stay warm were futile, because when I turned another corner, a steam of frosty cold air was jetting out from the side of the wall. Chip absentmindedly floated into it, only to emerged back out as an ice cube.

_Note to self: do not touch the cold air._

I thawed Chip put with a nearby torch, then tucked him under my arm as I dramatically leapt over the air flow and grabbed onto a bar sticking out of the way a ways off.

"I probably shouldn't be doing this with one arm…" I told myself more than Chip, swinging dangerously over a large fall with only one hand. My strength may have increased during the night, but one arm plus extra baggage, during a cold night? Not one of my better ideas…

"Chip, can you do me a favor and fly across?" I asked, almost afraid to let go thanks to the thought of how I might drop both of us if I tried. Chip hadn't answered, however- he was currently cuddling into my armpit, seeking warmth and body heat.

_He wasn't going to be flying anytime soon._

I sighed deeply, being able to see my breath in front of me. I knew I could pull this off, but I had to be really careful…timing it right, I waited until I swung close enough to the next bar, let go, then quickly snapped my free hand over to the next bar and latch onto it. It was a sudden movement that I felt my body go whoosh when I started to swing on the next one- plus my arm was starting to ache.

"One more time…"

I swallowed my gulp as I preformed the same maneuver, executing it more perfectly than the first time. However my arm was really starting to hurt, so the downfall was that I ended up letting go of the final pole earlier than I had intended. Chip and I had started to plummet…but luckily my double-jump managed to get us to safety. Catching my breath, I dropped Chip to the ground- who winced upon contact with the chilly surface.

"It's not that cold, Chip…" I scoffed. "At least you don't have to cling to frozen poles for dear life."

"You, however, weren't trapped in an ice cube!" he squeaked back.

Well, couldn't argue with that…but he still needed to fly by himself. I started to work my way over another chasm, this time with full mobility of both my arms. Unfortunately, when I landed on the other side, it was right in front of a cold-air jet. Once Chip had made it to the other side, he burst out laughing.

_Darn karma._

"C-C-can you h-h-help m-m-me?" I chattered, giving Chip a hopeful look from where I was frozen. Snickering, he nodded, and waited until the rush of air had stopped, then quickly tried to push me out of the way. This resulted in pushing me over…but at least I wasn't in the line of fire anymore.

"Heh heh…that's wasn't supposed to happen…" Chip chuckled nervously. I was at least able to break myself out of the ice, but being face first in the snow wasn't very comforting either. Having the barriers suddenly shoot up and monsters appearing fit along those lines as well. For once, I wasn't disappointed. A ton of red Rhinos romped around, along with a few wind-blowing creatures. I stretched, then brought my arms to my side and roared as I unleashed my true fighting potential. The glowing blue aura returned, and I felt my energy level practically rise!

"Heh heh heh…"

I smirked, swatting at a Rhino with lightning-fast reflexes, then grabbed another one. I spun it around several time, then let it go into a wind-blower. It knocked the fan-like monster over, while simultaneously freezing the Rhino. I grinned like crazy as I approached them, showing no mercy with my barrage of fists and punches. All of the other Rhinos ran in as backup, another Blower following after. I whirled around, the blue aura surrounding me seemingly glowing brighter. This managed to make a few of the Nightmares jump back in fear. I lunged, and any of them that I didn't manage to strike scurried off.

Chip let out a yelp, diving out of the way of a Rhino I threw. It slammed into the nearest wall, then slid right onto another one and knocking it into the ground. Meanwhile, I grabbed the Blower and aimed its frosty gust at any of the monsters that were trying to make an escape, freezing them right on the spot.

"This makes things loads easier," I chuckled, grabbing the Blower, winding myself up, then chucking it like a Frisbee and defeating the rest of the Rhinos in one fell swoop. They all instantaneously landed on the ground defeated, the barriers lowering, and my power-high coming to an end. I stumbled a bit- loosing the strength made me unstable.

"Watch where you throw your fiends next time!" Chip chirped, still grabbing his head in fear.

I gave him an apologetic laugh while climbing over another cliff and taking off down a new path. "Eh, sorry…I was getting really into it again…"

He said it was okay, then floated alongside me. I ran through a cleft in the cliff, going over a small wooden bridge. Just beyond that, I knew I was going to have to climb, since bars and rings were scattered around going upwards, but what I wasn't expecting was a brigade of Pests to jump out of nowhere. They hardly took any time to defeat- two quick swipes and one pound into the ground was all that I needed.

"Well, what do you know Sonic?" Chip questioned, smiling brightly. I pulled myself onto the next ledge and turned to look at him.

"Huh?"

"This has to be the first night where you're actually…calm!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I replied slowly, jumping over another frozen jet stream.

"You used to always complain and complain about the night…" he continued, putting emphasis onto every word. I listened to him while concurrently navigating the cliffs. I grabbed into a ledge on the other side and pulled myself over. "…but tonight, you're okay with it."

"Is that bad thing?"

"Nope…it's actually sort of nice to see…"

When I was on stable footing again, I stopped and turned around to Chip. "What are you getting at?"

"Before, you let your frustration get to you…sometimes you'd lose control and yell at me for little things…" Chip was nearly whispering now. "I knew that wasn't like you, but you had always thought it was just a side effect of what you turn into…all I'm saying is that it's good to see that you're not like that for once."

My heart nearly broke. "Chip…why didn't you mention this before?"

"Cuz I was always afraid you'd yell at me or attack…"

"Why not mention it in the daytime when you knew for sure I wouldn't get angry?"

"You don't like talking about the night when you're trying to soak in as much day as possible…"

I frowned- that was one of the last things I needed to hear. Chip flew over my shoulder, half-expecting an outburst, half-expecting a reply in general. I didn't really know what to say, and inching along a wall with hardly anything to place my feet on wasn't exactly the best time to come up with something. When I got across that obstacle, I sighed and folded my arms.

"…I'm not myself at night, Chip. My personality may still be intact, and I know looks don't matter for who you really are, but I don't _feel _like myself. My usual demeanor, my freedom, my speed…I lose it all at night. I don't lose myself- I lose what makes me myself…"

Chip was struck speechless; I just jumped across a gap and went back over to the other side of the cleft, now on a higher part of it.

"I'm better now- and you want to know why? I understand that this won't last forever. So it's not worth blowing out of proportion…" I smiled at Chip. "You said it yourself: I'm not crazy- er…I'm not _frustrated_ anymore. I'm not going to let it get to me anymore either! Sorry if I hurt you in the past though…"

"It's okay Sonic!" Chip exclaimed, his voice practically coming back to life.

"I also have to thank you," I stated, now walking across a very thin beam back over to the other side, headed for another new path. "You've managed to put up with me all through this and helped me get by."

"It's nothing, Sonic- I like traveling with you! It's so much fun!"

"Even though I might have hurt you feelings?" I asked quietly, reaching for a flying Pest to take me over a large. Chip flew after, nodding.

"Yup! It's nothing that can't be forgiven, right?"

I smiled, letting go of the Pest and flipping into the ground. "…that's good to hear."

"And you want to know what else is good to hear?" Chip asked, now flying way over my head and eyeing something in the distance. I tilted my head curiously.

"And what would that be?"

"The Goal Ring is just over there! I see it!"

I peered into the distance as well- needless to say, just beyond the snowy platforms I had to traverse was the Goal Ring, hidden away in a cavern of sorts.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

I bounced down a set of descending ice pillars, then grabbed onto another flying Pest and made my way to the next area. Now with nothing to stand in my way, I bolted. It was one small leap after another- I went as fast as I possibly could to get to the Goal Ring, especially since it was so close. Two blowers fell out of the sky to try and, pardon the pun, blow me away, but I plowed right through the first one before it could even do anything and sent it toppling into the water below.

"Whoa…"

I suddenly braked to a stop as the second blower aimed it lethal wind at me. The next ice pillars I could jump on were all shattered, and I had a feeling if I touched them, they would collapse under my weight.

"So I'd better time this right…"

I leapt onto the first shattered pillar, then darted to the right on the second one to avoid another wind-chill. I knew I was cutting it close with waiting for it to, again pardon the pun, blow over. The pillar was starting to fall as I stood! The very second the Blower cut it out, I was over there in a hot second, grabbing a nearby crate and hitting it over the head with it. Once it was out of the way, I quickly jumped from one broken pillar to the next until I reached the area with the Goal Ring.

_I was seriously expecting some last second monsters to pop out. Isn't that what _always_ happens?_

"Wow, Holoska really is giving me a break!" I said brightly, running right into the Ring. "I rule!"

"Only a little bit more to go, Sonic!" Chip cheered. "We're doing great!"

"We sure are Chip…"

_We were doing better than ever before, that's for sure._


	29. A Temple of Ice and a Monster

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Beyond where the second Goal Ring was located was a path, once again lit by fire. Despite the light shimmer of the flames, the surrounding area was still shadowy and dark.

"It's like a Temple of Ice…" Chip whispered, his own voice echoing and breaking the silence. I wondered what he had meant by that, until I made it to the end of the path. A huge structure of sorts was completely encased by ice, with the exception of the entryway…which was blocked off by an ice wall- but at least I could take care of the wall.

"Whoa…what is this place…"

"I'm still calling it the Temple of Ice!" Chip declared.

The foyer of the area- if it really was a foyer- had spike traps loitered along the floor, similar to the trapped alley in Spagonia. They weren't hard to avoid either- all it took was some well-placed hops. However, at the edge, Chip and I looked over a final set of spikes and two jets of frozen air…and found a hidden cavern.

"Okay, this is so cool!" Chip cried. Once again, his voice bounced from wall to wall, and I was really hoping that he wouldn't cause a cave in or something.

"Just try to keep your voice low, Chip…" I trailed, walking in slowly. "The Moon Tablet is most likely at the end of this-"

"Temple of Ice!"

_To be honest, it didn't really seem like a temple to me, but who was I to go against him?_

Though as I started to really get into the place, it was starting to look…temple-y? I wasn't sure how to describe it- I just know it was a little more than a cavern than I had predicted. Beams supported the walls, bars jetted out of those beams, and not to mention the halls and paths that crisscrossed around.

"This place is definitely intriguing…" I muttered, standing on a green button that opened a door that led to the lower area.

"It must be hiding something big- I can feel it!" Chip exclaimed excitedly. "What else would be the point of an ice temple here?"

"To guard the Moon Tablet that I know for sure is in here…" I replied, heading through the descending hallway.

"Yeah, but what if it holds a monster or something down here, huh? That's the only reason why I can see there being a sort of temple out here!"

"The monsters only arrived because of Dark Gaia," I pointed out. "I really don't think there'd be a temple here for some creature that only possibly appears every million or so years."

"I still think there's a monster," Chip stubbornly continued. "So just be careful…"

_I'd rather fight Eggman's crazy creations than a dark monster. The monsters are actually threatening._

Cutting our debate about whether or not there was a monster- and the purpose of this structure being in the frozen wasteland- short, I threw open the next door and headed deeper. The moment I entered, there was something I had to cross. Sighing, I reached up for the first bars ands prepared to swing across.

"It's so repetitive…"

With one swing, I reached up and grabbed a pole hanging down from the ceiling and climbed up. I barely missed being struck by a Blower on my way up- it was hanging around in a small nook in one of the walls. Luckily I didn't necessarily have to defeat it, so I finished making my way to the top and jumped down.

"Oh great…"

_More poles, more cold air, and more traps._

Next thing I knew I was sliding down a new pole, collecting ring, ducking under cold air, grabbing another pole, and just missing getting my feet turned into ice cubes all within the same move. My eyes were wide, my body clinging to the pole out of reach of any cold air.

"Yikes…"

"This place certainly keeps you on your toes, huh?" Chip stated.

"Yeah…" I huffed, jumping onto the next area and opening the next door. Chip flew ahead, flying down the hall and inspecting every little thing.

"Wow…check this out Sonic…" he gaped, staring into the next doorway. "This place is just full of interesting things…"

"What is it this time?" I asked, walking over to where he was. He pointed to the upper left corner of the room- the way out was blocked by a sealed barrier, which mean that somewhere in this huge room were three Light Keys. Chip turned to me with a worried look.

"Where are we gonna start?"

"We will turn this entire room upside down if we need to!" I declared, stalking off with a raised finger.

"Hey, your finger is right!"

"…huh?"

"There's a Light Key up there!" Chip cried, flying upwards to the first Light Key positioned on top of a small pedestal. "Now how do we get to it…"

I was already on it. I ran over to the northernmost part of the room, where there was a ledge I could latch onto. I did so and pulled myself up- the problem here was, the only way to reach the Light Key was to walk over a thin ice bridge.

_Hopefully the spikes on my shoes would prevent falling._

Contrary to my original thoughts, reaching the first Light Key was a piece of cake! To add on to the simplicity, I caught sight of the second one! I grinned, seeing that I could just walk over there from where I was. My grin changed to a frown when I saw that acid-spitting Nightmares were also placed around the room. I rubbed my arm, recalling the experience in Spagonia.

"Best to avoid those…" I murmured under my breath. While diving under a haywire acid ball, I fell onto the beam with a harsh thud, wrapping my arms and legs around it before I slipped off. "Hunh…hunh…hunh…"

I saw the third key- it was behind an ice wall. It was closer, but if I jumped down now I'd just have to work my way back up again. It was more efficient to go after the second one. I carefully got back to my feet just as another glob of acid was spat my way. I scurried off as fast as I could without falling, feeling the projectile take off a few hairs of fur, but overall scarcely missing me. I didn't dare try to attack- I'd fall for sure! Instead, I made a mad dash for the hidden room where the second key was, obtained it, then leapt off the edge.

"Time for the last one…"

The darn acid-spitter wasn't giving up just because I had retreated to the lower part of the room, leaving me to continue to weave and bob away from the onslaught.

"Augh!"

I lunged out of the way of another, the stray glob smacking into the ice wall and melting it upon contact. Chip cringed as I skid against the ground, only stopping when I hit a wall. Even though I just performed an embarrassing feat, I still had to crack up at how the enemy did my work for me.

"That was kinda cool!" I laughed, stretching my arm over from my upside-down position and claiming the final key.

"That's one way to get a key…" Chip giggled. I up righted myself and gave him a shrug and a wink.

"You know me- never a dull moment."

He instantly beamed right back. "That's for sure!"

Once again avoiding any dangerous flying object, I returned back to the seal barrier, which was no longer sealed. Also once again, Chip wanted to be the first one to see what was up ahead.

"It's like a chamber or something!" he shouted in pure astonishment.

"Chip…" I warned, trying to get him to remember what I told him about talking loud.

"But look…everything is sealed off with pure ice!" Chip continued to gape. He was right- just about everything, including the rooms themselves, were cased off in ice. It was peculiar, to say in the least. "Now do you agree that it's a temple of ice?"

"It's a temple of ice all right…" I punched through the nearest ice wall- nothing of value rested behind it. I shrugged and rounded the corner, walking down the rest of the hall that was decorated with ice just as well. Chip hovered around, acting almost too casual for my tastes.

"You know, there's still the possibility of-"

I rolled my eyes and plowed through more ice- this time, there were more halls behind it. "I really doubt that there's a monster, Chip."

"And what if there is?"

_Why did he keep bringing up this claim…?_

I wasn't able to answer- we had rushed into a room that was instantly sealed off- which we both knew by now was the universal sign for "a fight". He stopped pressuring the whole monster subject for the time being and flew out of the way while I readied myself.

"Red Rhinos! Pests! Augh!" I heard Chip whimpered. Said foes started ganging up on me, backing me into a wall.

"C'mon, power. I hope I can unleash it again…"

All the creatures looked on as I flung my arms behind me and threw my head back. A light growl escaped my throat as the blue aura started to radiate from me once again. The Nightmares cringed in fear, knowing I was certainly a threat, but none of them could escape from me now.

I didn't even need to move from my spot- one mighty swing from an arm knocked nearly all of them over, and any that I missed were quickly dispatched with a swat of my fist. Several of the Pests were defeated instantly, but the Rhinos were still a lot tougher. They shakily stood back up, then all scrambled out of the way when I tackled one into the ground. I recuperated swiftly, claws catching three of the escaping Rhinos and felling them. There was still four left, and all of them didn't dare try to approach me- at least, not while I was still Unleashed.

_Too bad for me my Unleashed status didn't last…_

As soon as I got rid of the final four, my power wore off, but I didn't care. I thought I was finished. I was wrong.

"What in the world is appearing now?" yelped Chip, now hiding behind a pillar. My jaw dropped as two large club wielding hulks emerged out of the ground, along with several "spontaneously combusting orbs" that I wasn't all too fond of.

"Oh man…why did I waste my ability?" I groaned, starting to circle the room to avoid the clubs. "Now I'm all drained out…"

_Well, this was wonderful._

It wasn't long before one of the weapons of mass destruction made contact with my head, clubbing me to the side and sending me sprawled out on the ground. Already weakened enough from my brief unleashing, it made me even more unable to move. I struggled to simply push myself off the ground, and the second hulk certainly didn't help by battering me back down again.

"O-Ow…"

A small group of the explosive orbs came closer to me, with me instinctively swatting at them to get away. I then mentally snacked myself in the face- contact was what set them off! The bulges on their heads started to swell, and I knew they would get ready to blow soon.

"Argh…"

I managed to get on my feet and hobble away, the four bombs I had activated me still tailing me. I was really in for it now…

"If I still had enough power I could've taken down both hulks already…" I grumbled to myself.

_Me and my perfect timing._

Right now I had to find a way to shake these things off my tail- striking them again would surely cause me to end up charred or something. I glanced around at the surroundings in what little time I had left- if there was a way to get them to all blow up at once, it would definitely weaken the brutes, and I would be able to land some sort of final blow! But how could I do that without it being an act of suicide?

I just knew I had to hurry- something that wasn't exactly easy when you were **a)** slower than usual and **b)** totally banged up. I tried nevertheless. The brutes were spinning around, trying to keep up with me constantly running in circles around the room, while I was just trying to outrun the bombs…or at least send then in a new direction.

"Come and get me!" I dared, slashing into any bombs I hadn't attacked yet. Now all of them were charging at me, ready to blow my head off. Hey, I was ready for them too! …for the most part. "I've only got one shot at this!"

I cringed, standing in the middle of the room and knowing the bomb-enemies were going to go off at any moment. While they were all coming at me, the brutes were as well, meaning that my plan was slowly working. I could feel that both of the hulks has their clubs raised high above their heads, and I could tell that all the bombs in the room were prepared to explode.

The hulks brought their clubs down. Both of them ended up hitting an orb instead of me.

Chip let out a wail as the room burst into several explosions, one by one, each one detonating the next. All of the orbs self-destructed, effectively bringing both of the brutes' health down by a ton, as I had planned. They staggered around, not expecting to be constantly bombarded by the many explosions. Chip just looked on, expression softening.

"Sonic…?"

Just as he prepared to assume the worst, my epic battle cry rang throughout the room once all the explosions had died down. Chip's head snapped up- I was in the air, bringing a harsh Were-Hammer down on the brutes' heads to finish them off. His worried look transformed into one of delight and relief, and I just winked at him.

_Never assume the worst when it comes to me!_

"Heh…I took care of them even without the power…" I panted, letting my exhilaration work itself off. That was tense! When I finally recomposed myself, Chip was grabbing my arm in a…victory hug, I concluded.

"Sonic, that was awesome! How did you ever think to do that?" he gaped, still in disbelief. "You took them out like it was nothing!"

I shrugged, grinning like an idiot. "I dunno- I suppose I just improvised…"

He let go of me and glided over to the area the force field was once blocking. "Well, either way…we should go through here!"

"Oh really?" I said, smirking. "Why don't we just take that _other _way out?"

"Because the Goal Ring is this way!"

_I don't think he detected my sarcasm._

"Now let's go- after that battle, you deserve a rest!" he claimed. I sighed, grabbing my head while shaking it.

"I sure do…"

At the end of the narrow hall, there was the Goal Ring, shinning in all its glory under the moonlight shinning down from a skylight up above. Also shimmer on the ground was Holoska's night half of its Planet Tablet. I scooped it up, knowing that Jari-Thure would be able to put it together with the day half we had obtained days ago.

_Then there would only be three more continents left to save._

"Well? Whaddya waiting for Sonic?" Chip asked, floating next to the Goal Ring. I stashed the Moon Tablet away, stepped into the Goal Ring, then gazed into the moonlight.

"Hey Chip?"

"Yes Sonic?"

"I told you there was no monster at the end of this place."

"It's still a Temple of Ice."

. . .

When we emerged back out of the Shrine- or the Temple of Ice, as Chip kept insisting, it was still nighttime. It wasn't a surprise, since we managed to get the tablet faster than I have anticipated, but still…I would have been a lot more pleased if day have arrived when we got out. But it wasn't meant to be.

_I had a bad feeling run through my mind…_

"Hey, Sonic. Now that we have more tablet fragments, isn't it about time we go to see the professor?"

"Huh? Oh yeah…sure."

Chip tilted his head as I started off for the Tornado. "Is something up Sonic?"

"No, I just…well, I get the feeling we'll be coming back here pretty soon…"

"Oh…okay."

Upon returning to the Tornado, we found that Tails was fast asleep in his seat. Chip giggled to himself while I climbed up and poked his shoulder.

"Yo Bro…we're back! Earlier than I thought, honestly…"

Tails stirred from his sleep almost instantly. "Whuzzut? What time is it? Pickles…chocolate…zzzz…"

"Tails, wake up! We need to get to Spagonia!"

"Yeah, and its day there!" Chip added. "So you can't be sleeping!"

I shook Tails again, but this time he didn't budge. Poor guy- all this flying around was taking a toll on him too. Chip almost resorted to jumping on his stomach, but I stopped him because for one, he really wouldn't like that, and two, the kid needed his rest. Carefully, I scooped him up- which was a lot easier than when I wasn't in wolf form- and placed him in the back seat. Chip raised an eyebrow curiously when I jumped in the cockpit instead.

"What're you doing?"

"What? Didn't you know I could pilot a plane too?"

"Really?" he questioned, sitting on the wing as close to Tails as he could get. "Then why does Tails always drive?"

I shrugged, getting myself comfortable. "He likes to- and I like to stand on the wing anyway. Though, if I have to, I do still drive on the occasion. I think Tails deserves a decent rest for all that he's doing for me…"

"I agree!" he slightly frowned. "But you need some sleep too Sonic…"

I waved a hand. "Nah, I'll be fine. It's not like I haven't pulled all-nighters before, huh? Heh heh…"

"You have- I know that better than anyone else- but should you really be driving a plane while you're exhausted?"

"Would you rather have a drowsy eight-year-old kid at the wheel or the teenage hedgehog with decent flight experience who can handle the night?"

"First option."

I refused to reply to that and started up the plane- I flew it like the last time I did was only yesterday.

. . .

"See? Nothing to worry about," I told Chip, jumping off the edge of the plane once we were parked in front of the professor's house.

"I don't know- when you transformed back I could've sworn the plane went slightly out of control due to your subconscious excitement," Chip replied bluntly, folding his arms in the air and giving me a look. I shrugged.

"You can't blame a subconscious reaction. Now let's go see what to do next!"

Chip obeyed and followed after. I prepared to burst right through the door, but better judgment took a hold of me, and I slowly opened the door instead.

_I wanted to be prepared in case Amy wanted to mount a tackle-hug on me._

However, this wasn't the case, as Amy had herself all caught up in studies again. That was good- I could really be ready for when she wanted to hug me. Professor Pickle, on the other hand, was standing around as if he knew I would be arriving at that very moment.

"Ah, Sonic. Good to have you back," he said with a smile.

"Good to be back!" I agreed.

"Hey, where's Tails?" Amy asked, closing the book she was reading and walking over.

"He's sleeping in the Tornado," I explained. "Poor guy was snoozing away when we came back, and we couldn't wake him up, not that I really wanted to."

"He must be completely out cold if he didn't stir at all during the ride over here," Amy pondered. Then, she sprung at me, and I instinctively flinched. However, instead of the death hug I was expecting, she lightly threw her arms around my neck.

_I was caught completely off guard._

She stayed latched to me, and I stayed shocked, as Pickle continued with his talk. "I've been so busy, I've not even had time for cucumber sandwiches!"

"Wow, that must be really busy!" gasped Chip. I sweat dropped.

"So I'll get right to the point. Your destination is still in Holoska. Get to it, Sonic, my boy!"

_I knew it._

"We came here for nothing?" winced Chip.

"I told you," I sighed moments later. Amy let go of me then stared at the ground sadly.

"You're such a busy guy, we haven't even had any quality time together!"

_Curse my inability to stand to see someone sad._

"Look on the bright side, Ames," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder to get her to cheer up. "At least you got to see me for a bit!"

"Not as long as I'd like to though…"

"Nothing I can really do about that though…someone has to save the world."

That finally managed to get Amy to smile. "I'm lucky enough to even know a guy like you, Sonic…"

To be honest, I could've sworn she wanted to say, "I'm glad that I'm friends with you, even though you don't like me as much as I like you." Either that, or I was totally imagining whatever was going on in her delicate mind. I wasn't sure of what to say next, especially after I thought_ that,_ so I backed away from them both, giving Amy a little wave, then running out the door. Amy stood, confused, Chip mirroring her expression.

. . .

I was now sitting on the wing, watching Tails continue to sleep, and I started to feel guilty. My little world adventure was draining him of all his energy, and he didn't even get to actually do any of the adventure. He just drove Chip and I back and forth…that couldn't have been very fun, but it was still necessary.

_I just hated how Tails got the short end of the stick._

"I'm still sorry, buddy, even though you've forgiven me…" I trailed, hoping that his sensitive hearing would pick up what I was saying while he slept. To my surprise, he suddenly smiled- still sleeping, but he was smiling lightly. I wondered what he was dreaming about- obviously it wasn't as extremely awful as my nightmare if he was grinning about it.

"As long as we're together…"

I thought I had heard things- glancing down again, it was apparent Tails had said that.

"Tails…"

"You know I've always got your back…"

I inched closer to him, noticing that his sleep talk was gradually getting softer. Was he dreaming about me? And if he was, was it because I had said something? He moved slightly- I jumped back in case he was waking up. But no, he was still snoozing, he just adjusted his position. Tails must have really been tired- I don't think even_ I_ could sleep that hard!

"You and me, Sonic…just like you promised…"

My heart sank low- no wonder he was still sleeping, he was having too great of a time simply dreaming about him and I on another adventure together! I pulled my knees up to my chin and sighed. Sometimes being a hero had its drawbacks, especially when it meant neglecting your friends for the sake of the planet's safety. I had Amy missing me and Tails simply craving time to spend together…and I couldn't really fix any problem. At least, not until this whole mess was over. And when this whole mess was over…what if I lost Chip?

It was frankly a passing thought, but a strong one at that. He would surely (and hopefully) get his memories back, but if he did…what if that meant Chip needed to leave? I'd have my older friends, but lose my new one? And it was upsetting enough that I had to put aside my older friends_ for _the new one…

"I've never felt so torn…"

I shook it off, climbing back into the cockpit to take off for Holoska again. One last time, I glanced over my shoulder at Tails. I reached back and ruffled up the fur on his head.

"I promise, kiddo. One day it'll be just you and me…you deserve it…"

"Hey Sonic!" Chip called, flying out of the lab. "Why'd you just run out like that? Amy was left totally speechless, then she just went right back to reading that book!"

I frowned slightly and turned away. Typical me, not knowing how to respond in that situation probably downed Amy even more. Chip didn't even give me time to whip up some sort of answer- he just jumped onto the wing and sat next to me.

"Well, we better head on back to Holoska so someone can put our tablets together! Just think, Sonic- we'll be even closer to fixing the planet back up!"

The enthusiasm in his voice upset me even more, mainly because of the second part of what he said, but I managed a smile, even if it was a bit sad.

"We sure will Chip…"

"I can't wait! Going on journeys like this really is fun, you know! Even when we're faced with endless danger, I still feel brave because I know you're with me!"

_Oh, why was he laying it on so thick now?_

"…you don't know how great it is to hear that Chip," I said, somewhat quietly. I glanced at him- he had on his beaming grin, and I almost couldn't take it. Usually I'd be grinning right along with him, but I had too many thoughts on my mind right now. However, one thing was at least certain- we needed to get back to Holoska. I started up the plane shortly after and took off into the sky.

_I hate how you can't please everyone. In the end, if you do somehow make everyone happy, you're the one who's unhappy._

. . .

Once we were in Holoska (Chip now complaining about how we "nearly crashed" since I transformed under Dark Gaia's influence again and had an "episode"), we looked for someone who could put the piece of the tablet together. To our surprise, we fund out that Jari-Thure and Sarianna were just the guardians- the one who could put the fragments together was none other than the elder of the tribe. He was hanging around by the village campfire, and his eyes sparked to life when he saw both halves of the tablet resting in my palms.

"Well what do you know? You've got the tablet fragments! You might be the chosen ones after all!"

_Oh joy- more "chosen one" nonsense. Sometimes I think people only say that to get them to do heroic things. …well, you don't need to ask ME twice!_

"I know I've been saying a lot of silly stuff, and I apologize. That was all just a ruse, you see!"

_I found that odd, considering I hadn't really conversed with him before._

"You probably thought I was just a doddering old man, but I can put tablet fragments together! That Jari-Thure and Sarianna are guardians too, but my role is special, don't you know!" he took both halves from out of my hands and began to fit them together. "Let's see…put this like this…There! Your tablet! Bet you didn't think I could do it! Not much we villagers can do about the crazy things in the world, but you fellows! You…huh? What was I saying? Care for some seal blubber?"

"Erm, I think that's one food I'll have to pass on…" Chip mumbled, flying away quickly. I was once again clueless as to how to react in that particular situation, so I just left the elder to his seal blubber cooking and headed up to the shrine. Now that we had a full Planet Tablet, it meant that we'd have to go through the Star Door…

_And fight something. With prior knowledge, I knew it wasn't going to be Eggman either. Perhaps this is what Chip meant by there being a monster at the end? Who knew?_

"There is it, Sonic…" Chip trailed, pointing to the Star Door when we entered the temple, as if he had read my mind. "It's glowing now…I'll go open it."

"I still have no idea how you manage to do that," I said while shaking my head. Chip shrugged- he didn't really know either as well. He spread out his hands, summoning the power in his jade green orb to open the door. As usual it rumbled open, and I was apprehensive about entering. Chip gave me a light nudge, and then his words from earlier resurfaced- he was brave because he was with me. How can he be brave with me if I was hesitant just to see what lie ahead? Apparently this was enough to get me to go in.

. . .

"It's DARK!" Chip whined mere seconds later. I know he hated it, but…

"Shhh…" I said tensely. I knew there was something up ahead, and I almost didn't want to know what.

What was definitely up ahead was a bright light that made both our pupils shrink from the sudden intensity. Covering my eyes, I looked on to see where it was radiating from. In the middle of a large, how you say, arena, I suppose, was what I perceived as a dragon encased in ice. Its eyes started moving around rapidly, creeping out both of us.

Then it abruptly thrashed upward, breaking free of its frozen prison, staring at us like we were a snack, then charging forward with a ear-splitting roar.

"Oh no!" Chip wailed, taking cover behind me. I, on the other hand, balled up my fists and dashed forward. Chip did a double take, then assumed a battle position as well. The Dark Moray, as I discovered it was called, was certainly not going to be a cakewalk.

_As I mentioned before, dark monsters were more likely to give me a workout- but fighting Eggman always seemed to be more entertaining._

"This canister thing looks really cold…I wonder if we could use it somehow!"

I looked over my shoulder to see where Chip was at- I was making a mad dash around the room to survey the area. He was floating next to said "canister thing", except it was so cold that it froze itself in ice.

"Huh…" I pondered. I turned heel and ran over to where Chip was, punching the canister free of the ice and heaving it over my head. What was I supposed to do with it? I know it was cold enough to free things…but what to freeze? The Dark Moray was surrounded by a force field, after all…

"Maybe if you take out those eel guys below the barrier with fall…"

I gave him a look since I had no idea what he was talking about. He frantically pointed to the closest glowing blue eel jetting out of the side, snapping and hissing like crazy. Now I had an idea of what to do! Even thought the Dark Moray was invulnerable at the moment, that didn't stop him from attacking. Huge glacier spheres went soaring over my head, and I was just grateful that they didn't strike me like they did before.

_I still remember how unpleasant it was. Brr…_

I chucked the canister at the first eel thing, and upon contact, the canister really did manage to freeze it. Chip cheered while I socked it in the jaw- it was no more!

"How many more of those are there?" I asked, breaking more ice and grabbing another canister.

"Only one Sonic! On the other side, quick!"

"Gotcha!"

Hurrying over to where Chip had pointed me to, I was quick to bring my canister down onto the second eel's head. Like the first one, it froze into an eel popsicle, and I took it out. The shield guarding the Dark Moray fell, and I jumped in to attack the big guy.

"I bet that big lug's weak spot is that glowing green thing!"

"I'm on it!"

I gripped another canister that happened to be next to me then chucked it at the Moray. It froze on the spot, just like its eel minions. If what Chip said was true, then I needed to hit the green bulges that ran down it's body- thank goodness there were only three.

_But don't these kind of things always come in threes anyway?_

I aimed for the one on its back first, just because it was closer. Chip mimicked my movements as I hacked and slacked like crazy! Eventually I must have struck a nerve, because the green bulge was no more and the Dark Moray broke out of the ice. It flailed around again, then knocked Chip and I away as it spun in a violent circle. We both landed on the ground, and inertia kept us skidding.

"I take it we've got two more times until we beat that thing?" I grumbled, picking myself up instantly.

"I would assume so," Chip shrugged in response. He flew off the ground as well while I scooped up another canister and ran for the eels again. This was going to be a piece of cake! The first eel didn't even know what hit him- the second one got a lucky break because the Dark Moray managed to land a blow on me with those ice orbs of his.

"F-F-frozen…isn't…f-f-fun…"

The eel slammed itself into my side several times, and there was nothing I could do about it. Heh, I felt like the Dark Moray when I froze him and wailed on him. Only difference was I wasn't preventing the world from becoming a whole.

That's when I remembered- once I defeated him, we could get access into the Gaia Temple and put the fourth Chaos Emerald on the pedestal to restore Holoska! With newfound motivation, I broke free of my icy restraints, then proceeded with finishing that thing off. Chip was trying to help by hacking away at ice, but it really wasn't doing any justice. I gave him a small grin before plowing my fist into it, then snagging what I came there for and launched it at the eel from a distance. Direct hit!

"Hey…why isn't the shield down?"

"There's a third one now!" cried Chip. I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"How totally typical."

Groaning, I ran to the other side of the area after picking up another canister, locating the third eel that I had somehow missed. Like previously, I froze it, then smashed it to smithereens.

"All right, the shield's down!" Chip exclaimed. "Look out for its attacks!"

_No need to tell me twice._

I lunged for its front- that's where the next green bulge was. The Dark Moray had become a bit more tactful- it sent a harmful spray of frost, aimed directly down at me, but I rolled out of the way and backed up just in time to get away from it. Then it started launching those cold spheres again…

"He's certainly hard to get a fix on, huh?" I panted, then cringing. First, it fell flat onto me. Then, it started spinning around like a helicopter blade and whipping me right off.

"Don't forget you can freeze him too!"

_Crud. I forgot._

I made my way back onto the area, instantly running out of the way when spikes of ice were sent to damage me. The Dark Moray was certainly putting up a fight…

"I really hate to say this because it's totally corny, but…you're on ice now!"

"ROAR!"

It became encased in ice once again, allowing me the perfect opportunity to strike again. Once I beat on its second weak spot as much as I could, it finally couldn't take anymore and broke free again. I could tell it was on the verge of death- it was getting aggressive.

"Once more, Sonic!" encouraged Chip. I gave a quick nod and jetting off to remove the barrier again. What was I so worried about? This monster wasn't so bad!

_Still more terrifying than one of Eggman's clunkers. You can't convince me otherwise, seriously._

Now there were four eels- but the strategy to take them out wasn't any different than before. Freeze, bash, break, and remove the barrier. The only change was that I repeated it four times.

"Heh heh, what're ya gonna do now, huh?" I snickered, leaping in front of the Moray and grinning broadly. Smoke- or was it just hot air?- snorted out of its nose before it breathed its own cold air at me. I felt my foot become frozen to the ground, but thankfully the rest of me was still mobile. "I guess that's what you're going to do now…"

I had to act fast- that thing was going to strike again and there was no way I'd be able to dodge. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of one last canister a few feet away. This was yet another time where I could actually be glad my arms could stretch.

I reached over, smashed the ice from where I stood, then grabbed the canister. I had to time it right, otherwise I'd lose the chance. It slammed onto the ground, preparing to sweep me right off. If I froze it too early, then I wouldn't be able to reach the weak point on it's head, even with my extendable arms. If I waited too long, it'd knock me right off…meaning I had to freeze it when it was literally right next to me.

The very moment I saw it started to sweep, I threw the canister and hoped for the best. Chip, watching on the sidelines like always, covered his eyes, afraid to see the outcome. The moray got closer and closer to me until I had thought I waited too long…and right when it was about to strike me, it suddenly froze over.

_Sometimes even my own luck amazes me._

My mouth gaped open- how in the world was I able to manage THAT? However, being me, I didn't waste anymore time questioning it and focused all my attention and energy into finishing the Moray off. I saw the pain flash in its eyes several times, every time I dealt a blow to its final weak spot. Enough was enough soon…enough.

"Eek!"

I glanced at Chip for a brief second, then turned back to the Moray. Once defeated, it sprung back up again, but this time it stayed straight, head tilted back.

"Sorry, I'm in rush here!"

Without another roar, the Dark Moray slammed into the ground for a final time.

. . .

Chip and I managed to reach the Gaia Temple, where at the very center lied the Chaos Emerald pedestal that we were so accustomed to seeing by now. Chip used his mysterious orb's power to raise it, then gave me a nod to go ahead. I stretched my arm over and placed the Cyan Chaos Emerald into the slot. The planet restored the emerald's power, and in turn, the power of the Emerald restored the fourth continent.

* * *

**I really like this chapter. ^^**


	30. New Horizons

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Hey sleeping brother! You finally awake?"

This time, Tails was awake, but he was somewhat confused. When Chip and I had returned, he was sitting up in the plane and looking around.

"Wow…it's weird waking up when its nighttime…" he muttered.

"Well, when we head back to Spagonia it'll be daytime, which might even a few things out…" I suggested, shrugging. Tails stared at me curiously.

"You're finished here? Already?"

Chip floated up to him and nodded eagerly. "Yup! We even flew to Spagonia and back, but you didn't know cuz you were still sleeping, and then Sonic laid a whomping of a beating to the dragon thing- it was no match for him though! Then we restored a Chaos Emerald and the fourth continent."

_You know, the usual._

Tails glanced at me for confirmation, and I gave it to him. He then sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh gee…I missed quite bit didn't I…"

"It's all right Tails- you really deserved that rest," I stated.

"I suppose…but I should have been awake and ready! Although…I did have a cool dream…"

I reached over and ruffled his fur again. "Good to hear little buddy. You wanna tell me about it on the way back?"

His eyes brightened up intensely as he nodded. "Yeah! Just hop in and we'll be on our way!"

"Roget that, Tails."

I climbed up onto the back on the plane while Chip took his usual position on the wing. I could tell Tails was either eager to tell his story, eager to get back to Spagonia, or eager for both, because he was quick to start up the Tornado and begin spinning the tale of whatever visions took place in his mind.

As he told Chip and I of his dream that I already had insight of, my mind slightly started to wander. Chip was intent on listening to Tails' story. Apparently I had been right- Tails was dreaming about him and I, roaming the world together. Right now, we really were roaming the world…

_But was it really _together?

He started talking about how I had slipped on ice and fell into water, which instantly and briefly turned me off. Even in dreams, I do not want to be involved with water.

"I've gotta say though…" I whispered to myself quietly, watching Chip make dramatic faces and hanging off of Tails' every word. "Every place we've been to so far, I've restored…"

I glanced over the edge of the wing- currently we were flying over the ocean that lied between Spagonia and Holoska. I cringed, then brought my gaze back up to Tails and Chip.

"…so it's looking like the last three continents we haven't been to yet…"

_New areas? Count me in._

. . .

"…and then- oh my gosh Sonic you'll never believe it- there was a BUILDING that came to life!" Tails continued to ramble even after we landed back in Spagonia, throwing his hands up in the air for emphasis. "Naturally, you took care of it in no time, then I pushed it over with my strength that I don't even know how I gained and made it land on Eggman and it was hilarious!"

"We fought a building?" I asked, chuckling lightly. "Eggman must've been getting pretty desperate."

"Oh he was Sonic! Then he took out this laser gun and tried to shoot me, but you came to my rescue like you always do!"

_That sleep of his must have done wonders._

We entered the lab again, me looking forward to where our next destination was. Tails slowly brought his tale to a close, while Chip flew off to see if the professor has taken a break while we were gone to make cucumber sandwiches.

"Ah, Sonic. Once again your timing is good," Pickle informed me, his tone seeming slightly more serious than lighthearted like usual.

"Any time Sonic arrives is a good time!" squealed Amy, throwing her arms around me. Luckily I had anticipated this, so I adjusted myself to make the death hug at least more comfortable.

"After some consideration, I've decided to move the lab. I'm packing now."

"Are you going to Apotos?" I asked eagerly, hoping that was the case. Pickle shook his head, and my ears drooped somewhat sadly.

"My ongoing analysis has uncovered your next destination- Shamar! The Gaia Manuscripts contain a rich record of Shamar. A direct investigation of this historical town should uncover even more! Our base of operations must shift from Spagonia to Shamar!"

"I suppose Spagonia has lived its purpose…" Tails said a bit softly. "It's such a great place for studying things!"

"I know!" Amy agreed, releasing me and turning to Tails. "But I'm looking forward to going to Shamar anyway! I've always wondered what it was like there…"

_Hmph. I wanted to go back to Apotos._

"Sonic, please go onto Shamar ahead of us. We will follow as soon as preparations are complete. Good luck!"

I glanced over my shoulder and stared at Tails. "You know where to go, right?"

"Of course! I've studied the entire planet back when you were working on restoring Spagonia! Now I know it like the back of my hand!"

I grinned and motioned for him to head out the door. "Well in that case, let's get to it!"

"Yeah!" threw in Chip, and the three of us raced to the Tornado, with Amy and Pickle waving us out.

**Meanwhile-**

Dark monsters roamed the earth at dusk fall, marching toward Eggman's base…wherever that was located.

_Here we go again!_

"All systems are green. Dark Gaia activation is confirmed on all seven continents," Ergo announced as Eggman started at his screen, listening to the report. "Electromagnetic homing signals are locked on. All units converging on Point Zero."

"Yes…yes, perfect!" Eggman clenched an excited fist, then frowned and began to pace. "Gathering Dark Gaia's piece has been such a pain. I'll have them all come to me instead! A brilliant shift in perspective! An idea worthy of Dr. Eggman, super-genius! Oh ho ho ho!"

Ergo nodded and applauded. "Your skill at self-aggrandizement is unparalleled."

"Ho ho ho ho-"

_Apparently his robot is much smarter than HE is!_

Eggman gave the Orbot a harsh slap, spitting out "Silence!" in retort to the hidden insult. As Ergo fell forward in a discombobulated fashion, Eggman returned his attention back to his main screen.

"Activate the Dark Gaia fusion furnace. And while you're at it, get those energy conversion circuits warmed up!"

Ergo up righted himself and saluted at the doctor. "U-understood…Commencing "Project Dark Gaia". Requesting final clearance."

"Granted."

He slammed his fist onto a large red button, then broke out into a devilish grin. "Finally, my ambitions will be achieved! Gaaa ha ha! Oh ho ho ho ho!"

_I'm looking forward to getting around to kicking his butt once and for all. I really am._

. . .

Apparently Shamar was way on the other side of the world, and by the time we got there, daytime had reached its horizon, and you can only imagine how thrilled I was to see to sun there. The three of us were looking around the place with tons of interest- it certainly was a change of pace from previous places!

"So this Shamar, huh?" Tails asked, panting slightly. "Whew! It's hot! Now, where could the professor's new laboratory be? The first thing to do is see what the locals know."

"I'm up for a little excavating and some exploring!" I said cheekily. Hey, this place was looking pretty lively! Plus, it was smack dab in a desert paradise with palms trees, sand, heat, sand, an oasis, and definitely sand.

_I had a feeling I was going to be running on mound of sands…in my shoes._

"I wonder what kind of food they have here?" Chip gaped. Unable to contain his excitement, he started flying around in several circles, making Tails dizzy just by looking at him. "I wonder if it's better than the stuff in Chun-Nan or ice cream! …but not chocolate."

"Let's start looking…" Tails suggested, leading the way. I blinked, then gave a mock bow.

"After you, my good sir."

And so began the romp through Shamar. That place was huge- certainly bigger than Holoska's village and possibly even Chun-Nan's. Tails was scouring the area for people with information, I was taking in the sights, and Chip was enjoying himself by splashing around in the small water-filled path that ran through the area. We asked an old man- he told us to talk to someone younger. We literally, and unintentionally, talked to someone younger- they were two little girls who called us "suspicious" and one of them looked like she was getting ready to attack.

_Third time's a charm, right?_

"Are we doomed to fail in finding directions again?" moaned Chip. "I want to get to the lab to have a sandwich and stock up on chocolate!"

"Chip, when was the last time you ate?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. Chip shrugged.

"Well, I had a sandwich at the old lab, but before that…it was when I was given all that chocolate! Maybe I shouldn't have passed on that blubber offering-"

"Blubber offering?" Tails began to gape, but I stopped him from saying anything further by grabbing his wrist and dragging him forward.

"We need to get you some real food! You haven't had a decent meal since Chun-Nan!"

"Yeah, and what happened? I loved the meal so much my head got stuck in a pot!"

I instantly started snickering. "That was pretty funny-"

"It was not!"

"Well, point of the matter is, you need to have real food that isn't chock full of sugar or something you keep eating over and over again- vary the diet up a little, you know? As much as I love Chili Dogs, I don't eat them everyday- it takes out the pleasure of when I do eat one!"

Chip shrugged. "I dunno- do you really think I'll ever get tired of cucumber sandwiches, ice cream, and chocolate?"

_Nope._

"Hey, there's someone we haven't talked to!" Tails exclaimed, bringing the debate to a halt. He pointed at a blue robed woman walking sown the streets of Shamar. She was young, no doubt, but also not a child. We hurried over to her, and it looked like she was happy to see us.

"Hi!" "Hello." "Waz up?"

Tails and Chip gave me a weird look which I could only reply with a shrug- just trying to shake things up.

"Phew…I think I'm going to melt- huh? Me? I'm Layla. I'm an exchange student. I'm studying at Shamar university. So nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too Layla!" Tails said truthfully. "Say…would you happen to know where Professor Pickle's base of operations is? I'd guess that a student like you would most likely know something along those lines.

"Oh, you're looking for the laboratory? Well, I just saw Professor Pickle's assistant over that way. If you ask him, I'm sure he'll tell you."

"Thanks Layla!" we all cried.

"What're the odds- the assistant came along for the ride as well," I smirked. It didn't take long to locate the assistant- he was at the market place.

"Ah, Sonic. Welcome to Shamar! Whew! Moving the laboratory was quite the ordeal! I'm glad that's over with. Oh, that's right…I didn't tell you where it was yet, did I?" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, referring to the building behind him. "The Professor is waiting for you, so you'd better hurry to see him!"

**In the Lab literally seconds later-**

"Ah, Sonic. What took you so long? Were you lost?" Pickle asked, he and Amy approaching us the minute we entered. I just twitched. "Very important research, you know! I had to select a lab site that wouldn't be too obvious. I must relay what I have discovered in my analysis of the Dark Gaia Manuscripts…"

"Go for it!" Tails exclaimed, ready to listen.

"Just as I suspected, there is a Temple of Gaia somewhere here in Shamar as well."

_Isn't there one in every continent?_

"Unfortunately, I am as of yet unable to pinpoint its location. But surely some of the townspeople will be able to help in that regard. And if I discover anything, I will let you know as well. Now, make haste, Sonic!"

"I was worried about you Sonic so I came to help the Professor…" Amy explained. "I want to do something to help!"

"And you will, my dear," Pickle said with a smile. "Your constant studies have given you a bit of a sharp mind!"

"Speaking of studies, I now finally have a chance to do some more research of my own!" Tails realized. He eagerly flew away from my side and toward a bookshelf, selecting a huge red book that was apparently interesting. A book that size would kill a few hours for Tails- however, if I read it, it might take a week. Or four.

"Aw, you guys get to stay here and learn," Chip complained. "…and probably eat new and tasty food too!"

I folded my arms and gave Chip a look. "And who says we're not going to have fun, huh? Whole new place, whole new vibe, whole new day…a good time is practically guaranteed!"

"Well you won't be able to _have_ that good time until you figure out the location of the shrine," Pickle chuckled. "Now, off you go!"

"Good luck!" Tails and Amy chimed after. Amy then opened a book that was twice the size of Tails'- and probably twice as old. Tails stumbled over while coughing after being absorbed by the dust cloud it produced. She turned and gave me a huge grin.

"I'll be looking for something useful just for you Sonic!"

_I know I'm already the fastest thing alive, but I really think no one could've bolted out that door faster._

. . .

Chip and I wound up back to Layla, after talking to a series of people and Chip acquiring Paaf of all things. Paaf was a special bread that tasted great with curry- so said the person who sold it to Chip. Now Chip was gnawing on his curry-covered Paaf like no tomorrow, but I was just glad he had gotten something decent in his belly. Layla, meanwhile, was still sitting on the bench outside of the palace. She once again smiled upon catching us in her sights.

"So you found the professor, did you? I was waiting for you guys to come back."

I recoiled in surprise. "Er…really?"

She nodded then, to our shock once again, pulled out Shamar's Sun Tablet and held it out to me. "Take this- get the Chaos Emerald to the shrine as quickly as you can!"

Chip thankfully asked the question that was on my mind- I was too busy gaping to even speak.

"What's an exchange student doing with a tablet?"

Layla gave a playful grin and covered up her chuckle. "Heh heh, we're talking about the planet breaking apart here. Many strange forces are at work."

_That still didn't change the fact I was stunned out of my mind._

"Thanks Layla!" Chip called brightly- apparently that answer had satisfied him. He turned back to me and clasped his hands together. "You know what we're going to have to do now?"

I pondered this for a bit, then a smile slowly crept up on my face while I nodded. "Oh yeah."

Layla watched, intrigued, as Chip and I held our fists over our heads and shouted, "TO THE SHRINE!"

"Good luck!" Layla called after us as we bolted off- or at least, I bolted off with Chip sneaking back to snag another Paaf. I retraced my steps, grabbed his wrist, pulled him away from the food, then took off again.

. . .

"Going to the shrine! Going to the shrine!" Chip started to sing, staying by my side as I flew over the sands.

Well, we weren't in any sand yet. I was still trying to get out of the massive (at least to me) city. Shops lined the streets, people noticed me tearing by, and I tore through any robots that happened to make an appearance.

"What do you think the next shrine will be like, Sonic?"

I shrugged, jumping onto an orange grind rail and riding over everyone's heads. "Only way to find out is to go see for ourselves! But personally I like keeping it a surprise- makes it more fun!"

The race to the shrine continued with a blue blur streaking down the streets, flying around the corners and even occasionally jetting up into the sky. I swerved madly around palm trees, ducked under small arches, and splashed through water. Considering how hot it was, the small spray was actually quite refreshing.

_Water does have its occasional purposes._

Several Boost Pad rushed under my feet, causing me to practically glide over ascending streets and ones that twisted in midair then spiraled downward. Shamar was, without a doubt, interesting.

"I wonder how they managed to build that…" I pondered to myself, glancing over my shoulder at the latest road, getting farther and farther behind me by the second. I also wondered how they managed to built the road ahead of me- it curled itself into a loop then rounded the side of a building. I leapt up, landed on a wall, then wall jumped all the way to the top until I could continue running forward.

"Any sign of the shr-"

"Oomph!"

Face first into a pillar is not pleasant. Chip cringed while I groaned and fell onto my back, froze in the same position that I had crashed into the structure with.

"…I'll take that as a no…"

He carefully helped me up then shot me a sympathetic glance. I staggered around like crazy until Chip gave me another gentle push.

"I hate doing that-"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to distract you! Augh!"

I waved it off and continued running. "S'all right Chip…"

He still looked somewhat guilty, though I hadn't the slightest clue why. It was mainly my own fault for not turning on a dime and getting out of the way at the last second. I thought it over while running through another loop then bounding onto a grind rail- shoot, I was still feeling guilty myself about losing the poor guy's memories…

Afterwards- you know, following being shot out of a cannon and performing an incredible feat of a jump- we ended up out of the main city and officially started the trek through the desert up to the temple.

"Now this is where things should pick up some speed…" I murmured, drifting around a cliff and using a pad to boost. I could imagine Chip's eyes gawking behind me as I once again committed another daring leap- this one being much longer and over a cliff. In short, it was a total piece of cake. "Nothing to worry about!"

I could tell he was dying to make some comment on how I could manage to jump a chasm, but crash head-on into a pillar. Then again, he still felt that it was his fault, which would explain why he was so apprehensive about it.

I plowed through enemies with a Sonic Boost, ran the sandy loops, bounded up cliff, and even avoided a few spurts of fire.

"Let's do it all again!" I shouted while stampeding over a Boost Pad. I was going so fast I rolled into ball form, a bold blue stripe flying behind me. I rolled through a double loop at breakneck speed, then froze in midair for a few seconds before landing back on the ground and taking off at that same speed.

"Careful Sonic," Chip suddenly yelled, veering away from a falling pillar. "Looks like we're headed into those unstable ruins- and getting closer to the shrine!"

A few of the townsfolk had informed us of how delicate the ruins are- one woman even said that if they fell, it would be like heaven's wrath when it fell on you, which did not sound very uplifting at all.

"I guessing its in our best interesting to watch where were going huh?" I was currently running backward with my arms held behind my head. Chip was appalled.

"Sonic, you'll get hurt!"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Just watch me!"

"I dunno if I really want to…"

I found it highly entertaining to watch Chip's constant change of facial expressions as he watched me punch enemies, hop over fallen pillars, ducking under falling pillars, and even manage to hit a Boost Pad- all while I wasn't looking.

"This is going to bite you in the butt…"

"It only will if you say something…"

He put on a worried look while I suddenly jumped up without second thought. I turned myself around in the air and found myself stylishly grinding a rail. I broke out into a grin and flashed it at Chip.

"What'd I tell ya?"

I had a blast- if you'll pardon yet another pun- riding on that rail. It weaved between rock towers, did two loops, and even included a corkscrew! I think Chip went into overload trying to comprehend how in the world I never managed to fall off.

_Tails would have been happy to explain how that's possible since it involved momentum…and maybe some other things like that…_

I continued the rail adventure into a cleft in the canyon until I ended up at another structure of the ruins. Were we getting close to the shrine? Chip must have been thinking the same thing, since he began to look impatient. But what was the rush with a daytime outing- especially in a place like Shamar?

"I'm confident that we must be getting close at this point Chip…" I assured, carrying on by running on the side of a cliff. I hit a spring, then bounced to the opposite side, hit another spring, and ended up back on main land.

"I feel it…" Chip reached for his jade pearl. "We really are getting closer…"

I once again questioned that pearl, but made no comment about it- neither of us would be able to come up with the correct answer, unless- er, _until_ Chip's memories came back. Sand now flew up in fierce walls behind me as I zoomed under another round of falling pillars, these sets all lined up like they were leading to something big and important. I scouted what was coming up- it could only be defined as a really old-looking building.

"The Shrine! The Shrine! The Shrine!" Chip blared like an alarm. "There it is! Woo!"

"Heh, someone's sure excited," I chuckled, ducking to the ground and sliding under a collapsed column. Chip shrugged.

"I like the shrines…don't you?"

"I like the ones that are bright as day…but most of them are as dark as night," I huffed. "Isn't the only bright temple the one in Apotos?"

"Er…no? Was Mazuri a dark one?"

"Mazuri doesn't really count…"

"Well then, I don't think there's any bright temples besides Apotos. Might be wrong, but..."

_Another reason why Apotos is for the win._

"It shouldn't matter whether the temple is light or dark anyway…" Chip continued once we entered, discovering Shamar's temple was yet another dark one. I quickly transformed into my might form and muttered something nasty. "…it depends on which door we go through!"

"You're right," I agreed, walking up to the Sun Door. "I just find all this unnecessary transforming really irritating. But what can you do?"

Chip just shrugged as he floated in front of the Sun Door, then emitted the familiar park from his necklace's jewel. Just like always, the door rose open, and I was ready for some more running through the Arid Sands- the trek here may have been quick entertainment, but I was just getting started!


	31. The Sandy Secrets of Shamar

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"C'mon…c'mon…"

"Are you done yet?"

"Almost…"

It was weird to be standing on one foot while you were dumping buckets of sand out of your shoes. I had finished the left one, and was now working on the right one, and man there was a ton of sand!

I groaned, still shaking any remaining sand, dirt, and small rocks out. "It never ends!"

"Won't your shoes just get filled with sand again when you start running?"

"Yeah…" I slipped my shoe back on then fastened the gold buckle. "…but at least it feels much more comfortable now. Let's go!"

Chip giggled to himself then took off along with me. "Right behind you!"

And so we bolted into the land under a blistering hot sun, on a search for a half of a Planet Tablet. Just like before, I took off from the shine, the surrounding area holding some resemblance to the city. I rushed over a Boost Pad then drifted fast around a corner- sand sprayed up in a violent wave at poor Chip.

"Pbth! Pbth! Ugh!" he sputtered, brushing it all out of his face. "Talk about a dirty start!"

I rolled my eyes and continued my run. Unfortunately, things didn't get better for Chip or myself, considering the weak breezes of Shamar managed to blow up small clouds of sand.

"Bleh! Now I know how you feel…" I muttered, spitting out any sand that worked its way into my mouth. "Yuck!"

"Certainly doesn't taste very good, that's for sure!"

_I could agree with that._

We made our way around another bend, moving along with the weaving paths of Shamar. As soon as I rushed into the next area, a group of robots materialized into existence. I gained speed and charged straight through them. Their remains of pieces went flying off in all directions.

"They're no match for you Sonic!" Chip exclaimed, holding a gear in his hand. I grinned.

"Shouldn't you know that by now?"

I suddenly felt something whiz by my head and instinctively I rolled in the opposite direction. Turrets had emerged out of the ground, pelting me with an ambush of darts of some sort. More were on the way, so I pulled Chip protectively behind me and rushed forward.

"What's going on, Sonic?"

"Nothing, just things are getting a bit more extreme…"

I launched myself up into the air, then came crashing down on one set of turrets. The next sets turned and took fire at me, but once again I was too quick for their meager ammo. Chip threw his arms around my neck- even he knew this would most likely turn out to be a bumpy ride. The second my feet touched the ground I was off like a rocket. The Boost Pad I trampled over added on to my velocity.

"Hang on tight, Chip!"

"You really want me to hang on tighter?"

I made a sharp turn, one that would have flung Chip right off my back if I wasn't careful. However, I was too busy focused on my running that I didn't notice his suddenly I flew up a little higher and ended up in a line of rings. What happened next is a little confusing to explain (I still don't even really understand it), but I used the rings to reach a higher area.

"Woo hoo!"

"Nrrhh…"

I flipped in the air, landing n the nearest footing and continuing the mad-dash. The surrounding area of large structures provided a brief bit of shade from the sweltering heat. Chip pressed against my back didn't help the cooling down process, but personally I didn't mind.

Once we were back in the sunshine, I ricocheted off a robot, leapt through a rainbow ring, and performed another "Ring Dash". Then I returned to the ground and hit another Boost Pad. I drifted hard once again around a turn, followed by running up a sandy wall.

"Rr-ARGH!"

Chip let out a yelp when I gave myself a boost, going so fast that I curled up into a ball and sliced across the land in a streak of blue. I rolled off the wall and continued the streak until I hit a spring. It sent me flying back up into the air, spiraling through a loop, and soaring into another row of rings.

"So what do you think of Shamar, Chip?" I asked the pooch strapped to my back.

He blinked. "Sandy."

"Well, besides that," I scoffed back, racing over a ramp again.

"It's also very hot…and you're making this trip interesting, as usual…but my favorite part has to be the Paaf!"

_Typical. Food._

"I like the different atmosphere," I said while shrugging. "Like I said, it's a change of pace from where we've been before."

Chip prepared to respond, until he suddenly glanced to the right. "Ooh, what's that Sonic?"

I started running backward to catch sight of what Chip had seen- a small body of water surrounded by a few palm trees. I smiled softly.

"It's called an oasis. It's very rare to see one of those in a desert since it's so hot…water usually tends to evaporate, but at oasis, not only is there water, but plants can grow there as well!"

_…at least, that's my own understanding._

Chip seemed satisfied with the new knowledge and seemed to mull over it for a bit. I, meanwhile, turned to face forward again. I did it just in time too- almost instantly afterward I slammed into a spring! Slightly caught off guard, I nearly missed targeting a nearby robot, but I hit it dead on nevertheless. I continued dispatching robots via Action Chain then boosted once more. We were coming back to a small civilization, fit with several buildings, a few trees, canopies hanging from roofs, and a fence surrounding the sides. I drifted around the fence and tore through the rest of it all.

The small settlement wasn't very big, just like the one before it, and Chip and I were back to running free mere movement later. I brought out my fist and pounding it into the sides of several robots to my left just before I ran over another Boost Pad.

"Meh, I feel like going faster," I randomly said aloud. Chip gulped and clung to me even tighter than before.

"That's not really a surprise…in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you boosted more than once…"

"Really? Let's test that out!"

"Wait, NO-"

Before Chip could really protest, I had already jetting off and became a blue blur. I eventually collapsed into ball form and rolled off an my incredible speed. Chip was hanging on for dear life while I was cheering like a maniac.

_Could I help that I found it fun?_

I boost again, and sand flew up in two huge walls on either side of the track I left. I honestly thought I'd end up slowing down sooner, but no- a nicely placed Boost Pad kept it going. So when I hit an oncoming ramp, I was propelled into the air, shot like a bullet. On the other hand, I was finally able to uncurl, and Chip let out a sigh of relief. He then saw the excited look on my face and his relief instantly vanished.

"…what do you see…"

"Oh, nothing…just an ascending, spiraling ramp!"

"Say what?"

"All riiiiiight!"

"WHOA-"

I let out an unintended genuine laugh when I boosted again, bolting up the thin path that wound its way around a few spires. Chip was griping my shoulder in an attempt to not fly off. There was no stopping me now though! I collided into another set of robots, casting them out of my way without a problem. After that, it was all pretty straight forward! I hopped over fallen columns, took out some more enemies, then managed to snag myself a ride down a grind rail. It curved upward when it ended, sending me into three red loops and putting three robots into my line of fire. Grinning, I spin dashed into each of them and charged through a rainbow loop and more rows of Rings.

"I think I'll let go now…" Chip trailed, performing said action.

"That's okay- I mainly wanted to get you past the turrets!"

"Well we're way past the turrets now!"

He flew off to my side as I started wall jumping up a section of the ruins. When I reached the top, I wasted no time in gaining what speed I had lost. I zoomed down the path, then launched myself upwards and made contact with a grind rail. The light wind blew through my quills, the sheer sunlight reflecting off my content grin.

"Man, I wish I could do this all the time…"

"What do you mean?" Chip asked, floating closer. "Don't you go on adventures nearly everyday?"

"Well, yeah…but I hardly ever travel around the world like _this_."

"Really?" Chip gasped. His eyes widened so quickly that it made it seem like my statement was down right incredulous. I nodded, jumping off the grind rail and running along the ground again.

"Yup…but I've experienced things on this adventure that I probably would have never even thought of before!" The realization was quickly forming in my mind. "The things I've got to see, the people I've got to meet…and think of the things I'm going to do! It's been fun…"

Chip fiddled with the jade around his neck and stared up at the sky. "I know the feeling."

"You do?" I asked. My answer was postponed by the fact I had started sprinting up the side of a wall, then made a U-turn around a large opening before coming back down and sprinting over a bridge. Chip was patient while he was waiting for me to get myself back on track-

_Not that it would take long at all._

-then continued with what he was saying.

"Well…it may not be the exact same feeling, but to me, it's like I'm doing all of this for the very first time!" He squeezed the jade in his palm. "Thing is, I don't know if its simply because of my forgotten memories, or if I really truly AM doing everything for the first time…"

_I must say, I thought it was pretty brave of Chip for putting his memories aside just to help me save the world. I still remember what he said in Mazuri…he could make new memories, ones with me in them…_

I glanced at Chip- he was smiling at me, and I couldn't help but do the same. I guessed we had more in common than we thought!

"Well then," I began, not missing a beat as I dodged more falling pillars. "Since this is your first time going on an adventure like this, what do you think of it?"

"I wouldn't change any part of it, and I'd gladly do it all again," he said happily.

I nodded. "Good to hear."

I then pushed off the group and launched myself off a rock, at the same time throwing myself into a midair robot. It fell down seconds later, with me using that time to ride another grind rail.

"Yeah, all right!"

I curved throughout the next area, watching the sands below me pass me by. Chip returned to my back, though I'm not really sure why. He poked his head over my shoulder and pointed out the loops coming up, so I crouched down and prepared to spring up.

"Ready? Go!" he yelled excitedly.

I blinked in surprise- that was something_ I_ usually said- but managed to bound off the grind rail and make it through the loop nevertheless. We spiraled several times in the air, cheering and laughing the entire way. I performed one more Ring Dash prior to returning to the ground. Next thing I knew, I was blazing over the sand and evading the ruins collapsing around me. Sand also poured down from the surrounding cliffs, Chip and I taking note of the natural wonder. Up a ways beyond the cliffs, the path was slightly eroded down by the presence of water. Chip suddenly started poking me.

"Hey Sonic, is that an oasis too?" he questioned.

"No, I think it's just there…though, in a way, I guess it could be."

We watched the water as I drifted around it, then shot forward once again. Yet another small area of buildings was up ahead, but this time I wasn't surprised at why it was there- it was next to the body of water, after all. And more importantly, the Goal Ring was just a short distance ahead. Also ahead was a bunch more clunkers that were going to try and get in my way. I braked to a brief stop, cracking my knuckles, then glanced over my shoulder at Chip.

"Ready to do this in one swift move?"

"Whatever you want, Sonic!"

"Okay!"

In a flash of blue light, I accelerated toward the robots, ready to literally take them head on. With the speed I was going, with the addition of a Sonic Boost, I could dispatch them just as easily as before! They were soaring away from where they once stood after I drove into them. Chip even had the gall to turn around and blow raspberries at them! While he was doing that, I jumped onto the wall of one building, bound to another, then threw myself down at the Goal Ring and skidded to a complete stop.

"Well, that was a good run," I chuckled, stretching out my limbs a bit. "Do you see the tablet anywhere though, Chip?"

Chip took a quick scan around the area, then shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, Sonic…what if something happened to it! ?"

"Eh, we'll just keep looking for it. It has to be around here somewhere…"

Chip started to stop me, but I already took off. I had plans to turn this area upside down if I needed to! Robots became scrap metal, people became buried in sand, and I became crazy trying to find that tablet. Chip just stayed where he was, watching me scour buildings and run along bridges in search of the darned tablet.

"Has anyone seen it at all?" I yelled, my voice echoing as I ascended up another spire, this one much larger than before.

"I don't think it's in this area, Sonic…" Chip sighed. I shrugged, jumped down from where I was, landed next to Chip, grabbed his arm, and ran back out into the desert. "Wh-where we goin'?"

"If it's not here, it has to be somewhere!" I exclaimed.

"So you're just going to randomly search around?"

"That's the plan!"

_If I didn't keep looking, then this whole thing would have been for nothing, and I was not about to let that happen! _

When I bolted forward to increase my speed, dust flew up into the air. Chip and I engaged in a coughing fit moments later. Not only that, but I couldn't see!

"Argh! I've got sand in my eye! I'm blind! I'm blind!"

"I'm pretty sure you're not blind, Sonic…" Chip scoffed, like it was no big deal. If I had seen where he was, I would've given him a look.

"Well, I can't see! Tell me where I'm going- I don't feel like crashing into a wall today!"

"Um, okay- there's a bunch of robots right in front of-"

"Dah!"

I slammed into the first robot I came in contact with, knocking us both to the ground. The first robot knocked down the second robot, and so on and so forth in a very domino-like fashion. Chip saw the massive pileup and simply tisked.

"Huh, I though you'd plow right through them-"

I took this chance to rub the sand out of my eyes. That was one brief experience I did not want to endure again…when I could finally see again, I dusted myself off, then stormed over the fallen robots like nothing had happened. Chip took that as a sign to not mention the situation again, and he silently followed behind me.

So I continued on, seeing more and more buildings start flying behind me. I rushed over a ramp and took off into the air, doing a small corkscrew over a few draped hanging from the buildings. My feet made contact with a grind rail when I came back down, and I wasn't surprised to find that it was covered with sand. I jumped off it quickly -it was about to send me into a wall- and I continued my run. I wove through the buildings, rushed over the small amount of water on the ground, and leapt over bombs that were just lying around in the road.

_It was a good thing they didn't let children play in those streets!_

I drifted around a corner and crashed into several tables, chairs, and tarps that got in the way. By some miracle, I managed to get out of the scrap without any extra debris dangling off my arms- unlike in Spagonia. The road took a sharp 90 degree turn after that, I dashed over a ramp, and found myself flying over the area once again.

"Ah…the day experience that I needed," I sighed, spreading out my arms just as I landed back on the ground. The wind picked up around me- or I just picked up speed. Whichever was the case, I was now running up a wall, bouncing on a spring, taking out an enemy, and flinging myself through a red loop. Without missing a beat, I jumped to the nearest building and hurried over a boost pad. The road bent itself into a rollercoaster loop, and I was a blue streak running with it.

"Man Sonic, how can you think so fast?" Chip has asked me later on in the run, after witnessing me slamming into an enemy, grabbing a lever, jumping over spikes, and ducking under a wall all in the same move. I just started running backward to face him and replied with a shrug.

"I guess quick thinking came with my quick feet! Now, excuse me for a moment…"

I faced forward again, then within the same second jump up and performed Ring Dash through a long line of rings. Chip became even more impressed at how I knew that was coming without even looking! I gave him a wink and continued to focus.

The area before us was filed with robots, mines, and only one safe route that was marked with rings. Chip thought for sure I'd crash into something, but if I impressed him before, he certainly hadn't seen anything yet! I ran to the wall, Chip staring at me like I was crazy. I ran up it a small distance, then pushed off and did a twist in the air. Chip cowered and covered his eyes- peeking through a small hole he had made between his fingers.

One robot went down via spin dash. Two robots went down using the same method. I took out five more in an Action Chain, then when they were finished I ran toward the line of rings. I did a front flip over one of the mines, jumped into the lines of rings, then Ring Dashed the entire way around the corner.

"Yeah! Feelin' good!"

"You enjoy showing off, don't you?" Chip questioned, wearing an expression that was a cross between perplexed and relived. I put on a look of surprise.

"_Me?_ Show off? What you call showing off is what I call just having a little fun!"

At the edge of the desert cliff we were traveling in was yet another ramp, this one designed to propel things to the other side of the small gorge. Well, that was an offer I wouldn't refuse. To provoke Chip just a tiny bit more, I did several 360's in the air then landed perfectly on my feet without faltering. He folded his arms while his mouth was twitching- I could tell he was trying not to admit that what I did was pretty cool.

_Even if it is true._

What more can I say? I plowed through robots, ran several loops in the road, drifted around corners, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I glanced up at the sky- the sun beating down on Chip and I didn't seem so intense as it had before. If anything, it felt really good on my skin.

_Maybe that was because I was subconsciously still cold from being in Holoska._

The structures and ruins we traveled through we definitely worthy of a postcard. I still recalled how they were set to crumble at any moment, so I found myself lucky that I got to witness them as they were. Of course, after I rocketed by, they tended to fall upon themselves to my disappointment.

"Ooh, are you seeing what I'm seeing, Chip?" I called, just after navigating my way through a series of traps after that particular section of ruins. Chip floated slightly higher to see farther, but he shrugged. "Grind Rail through a canyon!"

I clomped down on a spring that sent me upwards, and I propelled myself forward. The moment my feet touched the rail was the moment I started to relax. It curved around the jagged formations between the cliff, then went up and over everything before shooting straight back down. It was quite the scenic route- though Chip was more worried about how I managed not to fall off rather than how awesome the view had looked. Sights were one of _my_ top priorities!

_There's no fun in traveling if you don't get to see new things…unless, of course, it's one of your favorite places that you love to go to over and over again._

The rail made a huge curve before dropping me off at the latest set of land. It led to a cliff, however, so I just started running along the side of it while Chip continued to question me performing the impossible.

I don't know why he still find these things so shocking. We been through more incredible feats together than I can count!

"There's even mines scattered around and you're still going through with it!" he yelped. I just shrugged and jumped over said mines.

"The mines would be more of a threat if they could move, and even that wouldn't change anything much!"

I hit a spring that bounced me to the other side of the cliff, still containing mines.

"I do have to wonder…why are these even here?"

"I wonder if Tails or Amy know about it- I wouldn't be surprised if they did!"

My mouth morphed into a sideways smile. "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised either."

Eventually I stopped running along the cliff, pushing off, doing a sideways flip, then landed back on the ground. As I ran, I noticed part of the cliff beginning to crumb, probably because of my running. And the pieces that were falling were rather large…

"Grab on Chip!" I cried, doing the opposite and grabbing Chip myself. I practically yanked him out of his flying path when I bolted off.

"Oh, here we go again!"

"This may get a little reckless-"

"When are you _not_ reckless?"

"Oh, ha ha. Don't say I didn't warn ya."

The sound of boulders breaking off the sides of the cliffs echoed all around us, and I knew that I might be cutting close. I upped the risk factor even more when I pulled off a Sonic Boost. Chip had the disadvantage of facing backward, watching the places where I had once been become covered by giant rocks and huge clouds of dust. Chip cringed at the thought of how that could've possibly been us.

_But there was nothing to worry about!_

Those rocks weren't able to touch me, so I didn't worry about them as much as chip did. What I worried about was what I saw up ahead- a small metallic glint caused by the sunlight was what caught my eye, and I had a feeling it was the Tablet Fragment with the red jewel. I ran out of the canyon seconds later, jumped on the heads of a few robots, and used them as leverage to climb to the top of a pillar where the Tablet Fragment was located. I broke out into a wide grin as I let go of Chip and claimed it for my own.

"Beautiful!"

As I gazed at the fragment intently, Chip suddenly spoke up.

"You know Sonic, with all this traveling around, I think I'm starting to remember something…"

I stopped staring at the fragment and turned my attention to Chip. "Oh, really? What kind of things are you remembering?"

"I get the feeling I have some really important job to do…I don't really know what makes me think that, though." He then shook his head and started to float off. "In any case, we'd better go check in with the professor. Let's go back to the lab!"

I nodded, not taking my eyes off of Chip.

_That gem necklace of his seemed to have a constant glow now…_

* * *

**I think I adapted the same level twice, but I looked it over and I can't really tell. ^^;**


	32. Contemplation

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Sonic! Splendid timing!"

_As always, it seems._

We had returned to the lab as Chip thought we should, where Pickle was going on about what a perfect time it was to return (like always), Tails was dying to share the new information he had learned about (as always), and Amy was right there with both of them, waiting for a chance to sneak in and give me a hug (which isn't a surprise). Chip had flew off to the kitchen to go find a snack…like always. Sometimes I had to appreciate how we never changed.

"I have just, at this very moment, finalized the compilation of my most recent research findings," Pickle continued, looking rather excited. "According to my analysis, there's a Temple of Gaia somewhere in Adabat as well."

"Ooh, Adabat?" I asked, sounding interested. "Wonder what kind of place that's like!"

"However, I wasn't able to ascertain the door's location. You'll have to check with the locals. It's nearly nightfall here in Shamar. I suspect the darkness may reveal more clues. Time is of the essence, Sonic!"

_Don't I know it…_

"Hey Sonic!" Amy suddenly injected. "You and Chip are rolling along like a well-oiled machine!"

I gave a nervous sort of grin. "Gee, thanks for pointing that out, Amy…"

"We are doing pretty good, aren't we?" Chip chuckled, returning to the main room with a plate of chili-covered Paaf already halfway eaten. "We're really good at this, aren't we?"

Amy nodded. "Keep up the good work and the planet will be fixed in a few days!"

"Yeah!" Chip and I slapped our trademark high-five as Tails quietly stepped forward.

"So…do you have any plans to go to Adabat, or are you going to stick around here until night falls?" he asked, cutting the previous conversation short. I grinned sheepishly and nervously twiddled my thumbs.

"Well, I was thinking we could go to Adabat first…but only if you're willing to take us right now, Tails."

I thought I noticed Tails stand up a little straighter. "I'm always ready to take you wherever you need to go, Sonic!"

"I can always count on you, can't I Tails?" I sighed happily, walking toward the door while waving to Pickle and Amy. "Along the way you can tell me some of things you learned about Shamar."

"I'd_ love_ to!" he cried, almost a bit too enthusiastically. "And I read up a lot on Adabat too since he figured out that you'd be heading there sooner or later! If you've got any questions about those two places, I think I've got the answer!"

I smiled meekly- a few fun facts were a small price to pay to keep my little bro happy.

_Of course, if he asked me to regurgitate what he was talking about, I don't think I could guarantee that I could…_

. ..

Getting to Adabat took a bit longer than I thought it would, unless Tails was flying slower than usual to make sure he crammed every little thing he had learned into my head. Unfortunately, being me and more than half the time unable to keep focus on things that bore me, the majority of what he said went right over my head. I caught a few snippets of info here and there- Adabat was a tropical place, the waters were crystal clear and the beaches were white, Shamar at night could be a dangerous place, and Shamar could also reach Holoska temperatures in certain areas. He also mentioned that since most of Shamar was lit up with so many torches at night, the heat all the torches produced seemed to keep the cold at bay.

_Well, at least I've got some knowledge under my belt._

Chip, during Tails' teachings, was poking around in whatever he could get into, and I slowly started drifting off into my own thoughts as I lay on the wing. Why did Chip never seem to get tired? He had yawned on occasion, but I had never really seen him sleep…perhaps he did while he was out of my sight or something along those lines. It was just a passing fancy that came to me.

What stuck out more prominently in my mind was how he possibly gained a piece of his memory back. Chip? Destined to do something important? My mind ran through several possibilities but I just couldn't think of one that would match up with Chip. Hopefully more of his memory would gradually start to return- that small recollection was the sign of good start! Besides, I _really_ wanted to know what he was destined to do…I really didn't know! Chip was…well, Chip. At least, he was Chip to me, and until he got his memory back, I was the closet friend he had. I was the only one really spending time with him at the moment. Maybe that was why I was having trouble picturing him doing 'something important'? Chip was an innocent chocolate-loving animal; a timid guy who always tried his best even if he was frightened.

I shrugged, at the same time reducing my thoughts and musings. Looks could be deceiving, that was for sure. I glanced at Chip again, Tails' voice still droning in the background (I think he was talking about sharks now). What were the odds? He had actually fallen asleep…on the cold floor. I crawled along the wing until I was able to reach him, then I picked him up and let him sleep in my lap. At least it was a little more comfortable than the floor!

"…and the coconut trees are to the south, in case you ever need to go for a snack, okay?" Tails had finished. I gave him a thumbs up.

"I'll be sure to remember that! I've never tasted a fresh coconut before…"

"The ones in Adabat are delicious! They contain the freshest coconut milk than any other coconut in any other part of the world…"

And he was off again. I was pretty sure that "coconuts" would quickly change into "exotic birds" or something like that. Either way, Tails certainly knew how to transition from one subject to the next. Heck, he'd even be able to find some connection between Adabat and Holoska and start talking about the latter!

_I envy his intellectual prowess sometimes. But, I'm okay with just being clever and quick._

Was it coincidence that when Tails started talking about what the moon looked like in Adabat, I started to transform into my night form? I hastily put Chip off to the side as we crossed over into Adabat, and I could feel the darkness practically closing in on me. Tails heard me start grunting and moaning and quickly stopped his story.

"Sonic? Are you transforming again?"

I gave him a look as my fangs protruded, my gloves tore, and my body suddenly sprouted a full coat of fur. "What do_ you_ think?"

He sweat dropped. "Sorry, er…stupid question…do you want me to continue from where I was?"

_Where were you, exactly…?_

"Yeah, go ahead." I said, stretching my arm over and pulling Chip back into my now-softer lap. "We're almost to Adabat's village, though…"

"Oh, don't worry! I should be finished by the time we land! So anyway, Adabat was first named way back when they discovered the first beach to the north…"

I tried to pay attention to prevent myself from getting lost in my thoughts, but it failed within a minute. Now as Tails chatted about the ancient Adabat people, I was thinking about Chip's possible purpose again.

_That's when my eyes shifted their gaze to his necklace._

I actually had a chance to get a close up view of his jade jewel. I just wanted a closer look at it- I had no intentions of taking it; that thing was probably better left with Chip than with me. I also doubted I could figure anything out just by staring at it, but it was worth a try. I reached down and placed a finger under the jewel, lifting it up ever so slightly. It started to glow faintly, but not as bright as it could be. There was something…mystical about it (if I hadn't guessed that already), but it seemed like there was something more to it. I just couldn't figure it out.

I sighed and removed my hand from the gem- it's mysteries were still…mysterious to me. We were arriving in the Adabat Village anyway, so I'd need to wake Chip up soon. I turned back to Tails, and by the tone of his voice I could tell he was wrapping it up.

"…and they signed a peace treaty with Shamar seven years later. Neat, huh?"

I nodded, shamefully not knowing what he meant. "So…I'm looking forward to what night Adabat has in store for me…"

"The sights are definitely something to take a picture of," Tails pointed out as he brought the plane down. "However I'm not sure if the environment will be as pleasing…"

I instantly got on the defensive. "Just what do you mean by _that_?"

"You're the adventurer- go see for yourself!" he chuckled. The plane has been landed to the west of the village, and now Tails was motioning for me to head on over there to take care of business. I gave him a wary look, yet told him I'd be back soon as I climbed down from the plane and brought Chip with me. The first place I visited had shallow waters…and a man looking awfully depressed.

_Dark Gaia strikes again..._

"Oh, hello…" he said drearily. "It's just not fair…"

And he said nothing more. Considering he was awfully downcast, I figured he must've been important and I made a mental note to check back in on him later. The next place I visited had a teenage boy busy at work, but he dropped everything instantly upon seeing me.

Wow! We hardly ever get visitors here!" Jamal, as was the boy's name, gasped. "Take a load off and make yourself right at home! Not much to see, but…I've got work to do, but I'll catch you later!"

"Okay then," I said, walking away. "Thanks…"

Nice boy, but he wasn't very helpful in helping me figure out what I was supposed to do next. Toward the village entrance (which I had no idea _was_ the entrance- I would have entered that way) was a little girl in a while T-shirt and yellow shorts. She was looking around curiously, and though I didn't think she knew anything about the Shrine or the Gaia Temple, I talked to her anyway.

"Good evening! Can you understand me?"

I blinked. "Yeah…"

"Oh, good. What's your name?"

"My name's Chip!" Chip suddenly cried, springing up out of my arms like he wasn't sleeping at all. While Nagi introduced herself to Chip, I nearly doubled over from the pure shock he had given me.

"You look like one of those dolls they sell in gift shops!" Nagi laughed, even poking Chip in the side. "Are you sure you're not one?"

Chip poked himself as well. "Yeah, I think I can confirm that I'm not a toy!"

Nagi then waved us off, and I stared at Chip for a long time until he felt uncomfortable.

"What? What did I do?" he squeaked.

"You just jumped out of my arms like you came back from the dead! You could've at least given me a little warning that you were awake instead of nearly giving me a heart attack!"

Chip blinked. "Oh, I only startled you? I thought you were going to yell at me for eating your chili dog."

_…WHAT._

"Just…next time you suddenly wake up, don't make it so surprising," I scolded lightly. Chip shrugged and asked me who we were going to talk to next. I was still taken aback from his sudden wakening, but what happened happened, so I led him to the only unexplored spot in the village- the Central Pier.

"Good evening and a warm welcome to Adabat Village!" a pretty girl dressed in blue and pink carrying a basket of water on her head greeted us. "We call it a village, but we're really just one family, all four of us."

_Only four people live in Adabat?_

"Our ancestral home was destroyed in a recent earthquake…Since then, Dad has been feeling awfully low. He's at Shallow Waters." She then looked at me hopefully. "Sonic, is it? Would you be kind enough to go over and talk to him?"

I nodded. "Sure. If anyone, I just might be able to perk him back up!"

The girl smiled. "That's very nice to hear. My name is Rudi, by the way."

"Niec to meet ya Rudi!" Chip exclaimed. "You sort of remind of Layla…"

Rudi raised an eyebrow. "Layla…?"

I grabbed Chip and headed off. "We'll be speaking to your father now! Wish us luck…"

"Hey! I didn't do anything wrong that time!"

I ignored him for a bit and marched back to Shallow Waters, when Rudi's dad was looking just as shallow as the water.

"Sigh…my house, my memories, they'll never be the same…"

"Excuse me, but do you know anything about the Holy Shrine?"

He glanced up and sighed at Chip. "What? The holy shrine? Please ask Rudi. I'm just not up to it right now."

"We were supposed to cheer him up," I said, shaking my head as we made our way back to the pier.

"Well, you were getting annoyed that we couldn't find any information, so I just gave it a try!"

When we returned to Rudi, she was looking a bit happier than before, but I knew that it wouldn't last for long.

"So, how was Dad?"

I frowned. "He's still down in the dumps…"

"Oh, is that so? I really hope he feels better soon. I'm worried that his mood will prevent him from carrying out his duties. Ahh, what am I going to do with him?"

"What important duties does he have?"

"We in Adabat have been in charge of the holy shrine for generations. Dad oversees the gate, but lately…I have an idea. Would you go check out the shrine for Dad? Here is the tablet that opens the gate leading to the temple. Thanks."

"You're really going to trust us with that?" Chip gaped. "I mean, that's great that you do, but we've just met-"

"I can tell a lot by my father's reaction. He knows what you're trying to do, and he wants to help."

She gave us the Moon Tablet, and I bowed. "Well in that case, I'd be happy to check out the shrine for you. Let's go Chip…"

"One…"

I knew what was coming. "Two…"

"Three!"

"TO THE SHRINE!" we both yelled at the same time, running off and leaving Rudi, who was giggling away.

. . .

When we reached the shrine, it was the same as ever- dark inside, and a door was glowing. Considering we had the Moon Tablet, it led to the Moon Door, which meant another nighttime adventure for us. Chip floated to the door and opened it promptly. I stood at the entrance, staring into the dark.

_I was still a bit apprehensive after hearing what Tails had said…_

Still, he hadn't told me what he meant by his odd statement, so I forged onward. It was time to make the most of it.


	33. Whirlpools of Trouble

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Well…" I whistled, getting a load of what was in store for us. "Tails certainly wasn't lying about the sight being good on the eyes!"

"Just look at this place!" Chip gaped, floating around the pier were we on and poking at the colorful decorations hanging around. "And just check out the sky!"

The sky had to be the main attraction to the view! I had to admit, I didn't think I'd ever seen so many stars in one setting- how did the people in Adabat not want to gaze up at the stars all the time? It was beautiful!

"We'd better quit stargazing…" I trailed, starting to walk off. "There's a Moon Tablet we need to find."

"Knowing you Sonic, you'll probably point out more of the scenery along the way."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Obviously you're a guy that knows when to stop and smell the flowers- even if you're flying by them at the speed of sound."

I shrugged and started dashing down the boardwalk. "Eh, I just like to appreciate what I see. Not everyone can see the sights that I do, you know."

The conversation about seeing the sights was cut short as five red monsters emerged out of the ground, taking on the form of Pests. I charged at them, swiping my claws as I ran by and making them dizzy. Since their health was incredibly low compared to the other enemies I had faced so far, I wondered why the Pests continued to pop up.

_Not that I was complaining about a quick-dispatch, but sometimes I enjoy the challenge. …only _sometimes_ in this case._

So we circled the boardwalk, both Chip and I admiring the fountain in the middle. I caught sight of a blue pressure switch though, then quickly went on a hunt for a crate. Chip left my side and continued to gape at the fountain.

"Are you seeing this, Sonic? It even lights up!"

"Ergh…not now, Chip…"

I heaved a crate on the other side of the dock up onto my shoulders, then carried it over to the other side and slammed it down on the button. A door that was once closed flew open, and I jumped across a gap in the path to get to it.

"Chip, are you coming?"

"Whuzzat? Er…yeah. Be right there!"

As he tried to catch up I continued…straight into another round of enemies. This one included a witch dictating a herd of Pests, and currently they were standing behind a row of spikes, daring me to try and get to them. I felt a growl build up in my throat as I approached. It all came out as I sprung, the howl getting stronger the higher I went. I crashed down right in front of the brigade of Pests, clawing at all of them in one fell swoop. While I was busy getting rid of them, the witch started to make her escape.

"Where'dya think you're goin'?" I called after, bounding over the spikes with my claws aimed directly at the foe. She teleported away from me, dancing just out of my grasp. I landed on the lower part of the boardwalk and felt my claws and the spikes on my shoes scrape against it. It was a harsh brake. In the same turn on a dime, I sprung toward the witch again until I backed her into a corner. With a finishing blow, she was gone, and the force field disappeared just as she did.

Looking to the newly available path, it wasn't hard to tell that the platforms were lowering and rising with the waves. Nothing hard at all, I just needed to time it right. Basically, when the platform in front of me lowered, I would jump on it, and it continued like this until I reached two pillars with a handle sticking out of each of them.

"Aw man…" I winced, stretching up to grab one. "I'd better not fling myself into the water…"

Contrary to what I had predicted would occur, I made it to the next dock without getting a since piece of fur soaked. It felt like an accomplishment to me, so I strolled off feeling great.

_You know, before Chip flew up from nowhere with a_ _pineapple of all things in his grasp._

"Look Sonic! Whatever this is, it tastes really good!"

This was followed up by me yelping in surprise, toppling backward, feeling cold tropical waters touch me, and then my arms shooting up to grab the edge of the dock before I went too deep. Chip realized he had done the wrong thing and chucked the pineapple over his shoulder like it was never there. Instead of yelling at him like Chip had anticipated, I spat a bunch of water out of my mouth, climbed back up, and dried myself off via shaking like a dog.

"Ugh! I don't exactly need a shower right now, Sonic!" Chip sputtered, wiping the water droplets I caused off his face. I just stood back up, my fur now looking slightly fluffier.

"Next time, don't frighten me with a _pineapple_!"

"So_ that's_ what it's called!" Chip gasped. "I understand the 'pine' part, but why a pineapple?"

_I'm not sure I could describe how I felt after hearing that…_

Once I satisfied Chip for the moment by telling him that that was a question to ask Tails, my scavenging of Adabat continued. More gaps were in store for Chip and I, which involved me leaping from pole to pole, running along concaved roofs, and hitching rides on flying Pests. I even had to make my way across a monkey bar-like set up…while being pelted by orbs that red Pests were spewing out.

"That's just not even fair," Chip moaned. A tiny smile tugged at my lips.

"Yeah? Well, neither is this."

I hung onto one rung and lowered myself slightly, getting out of the line of fire. The red Pests weren't expecting to get swept off the pier they were perched on by my other arm, however. They went flying into the water, screeching in little high pitched voices, and I almost found it funny as I continued my way across the gap.

"Despite the death traps, I'm going to say again that this place is sweet," I stated, still navigating through the crooked footing sticking out of waters. Chip instantly whipped out his camera and snapped a few shots. I smiled while climbing on top of a rock. "Dude, you should totally take a bunch of pictures!"

"Why's that?" Chip asked innocently, taking one of himself. I shrugged and reached for another ledge.

"I dunno, I might want to look back on this adventure one day…and then I know that you'll have taken pictures that I lcan ook back on and cherish forever."

Chip put on a look of mystification and started to follow me again. "How do you do that?"

Now it was my turn to look perplexed. "Haven't you ever heard of a scrapbook?"

Chip scratched his head and sweat dropped. "Uh, not as far as I can remember…"

I mentally smacked myself in the face and prepared to give Chip the lowdown when a force field surrounded the platform we were on. About ten- count 'em, TEN- Rhinos appeared along with the self-detonating orb monster.

_And memories of the Temple of Ice come flooding back…_

"We'll pick up on this discussion later," I assured, grabbing a Rhino and throwing it into at least four others. "I hate being interrupted! Don't you guys know I'm on a tight schedule?"

Chip took pictures like mad, briefly blinding the Rhinos but having no effect on the orb monster bomb. Using my previous tactic, I punched the orb, then threw it to the other side of the platform. It struggled to hurry back over to me as the thing on its head began to bulge. I didn't panic- every thing went perfectly according to plan. The bomb didn't make it to me- it exploded right in the middle, taking six of the ten Rhinos down with it. Now that I only had to manage four, it made things loads easier. Chip took another picture, and I slammed my fists onto each of their heads. I continued to give them a beat down until the last one was pummeled out of commission via me throwing a metal crate at it.

_Nothing like finishing off with style!_

On the downside, I wasn't finished…red Pests emerged from the ground along with two more Bomb Orbs. I took in a deep breath and emanated the blue aura, showing that I was Unleashing my true potential in night form once again.

"Let's just hope a brute with a club doesn't appear next," I gulped, my claws slicing through the nearest Nightmare. They all threw themselves at me, but even as a Werehog I was still too quick for them and managed to roll out of the way. I ended up next to the crate I have previously thrown, so I grabbed it and hurled it at any enemy in my path. I managed to knocked out a few Pests, but I also hit a Bomb Nightmare as well. I punched it, and it instantly detonated, thanks to my increased power. All foes around it blew up as well, and I was especially grateful that no mega-monster happened to show up.

"So…you were saying about pictures and scrapbooks?" Chip asked quietly, apparently still interested in the subject. I blinked, then thought it over for a bit.

"Well, if you take a bunch of pictures with the camera you have there, we can put them all in the book! The process to actually finishing the book is very tedious, but glancing through the finished product and looking back on all sorts of memories…" I smiled. "It's totally worth it."

Chip looked thoughtful. "Well, I've been taking a lot of photos during this whole trip…maybe we could make one?"

"Hey, that's actually not a bad idea!" I exclaimed, continued down the path. "Whenever we get some downtime, we can pool together your pictures and put them all in a book!"

"Downtime…" Chip moaned wearily. "Will we _ever_ get any? I mean, with how close we are to putting the planet back together, you'd think that we'd keep on going until we finish!"

"Ha, all fight and no runs make Sonic a dull boy- which Sonic will never allow," I replied, a bit sourly. "Trust me, before this is over, I'll be sure to squeeze us in a little time for relaxation."

Chip grinned. "Sounds cool, Sonic."

Feeling rejuvenated, I prepared to tackle the next obstacle in my path: a treadmill that was going against me. Usually not a threat if I'm in my normal form, but at night…it would turn out to be a worthy foe.

_Especially with Blowers puffing cold air at me. …Why cold air in a tropical climate?_

However, I spotted the Goal Ring not too far off, and I suppose that's what gave me to motivation I needed to bounce across the treadmills and take out both of the Blowers. Excited, I fell to all fours and dashed down the boardwalk, skidding around the corner and charging right into the Ring.

"Psh, and Tails said that this place was gonna be hard!"

"Sonic, that was just the first part."

. . .

I was still feeling pretty good about Adabat, while Chip was constantly warning me that "looks could be deceiving".

_I knew that better than anyone else at this point._

"As long as I go into this with a positive attitude, I should be fine."

"Or, if you go into it with a non-cautious attitude, then you'll be doomed!"

"C'mon Chip! What's the worst that could-"

We walked all the way to the edge of the dock we were on, gaping over the side. In the waters not too far from us we three _**HUGE**_ whirlpools. Little rafts drifted at the end of their range, which I had a terrible feeling that they would be the only way to get across the restless coast side…but the other problem was, where the heck WAS the other side?

"It ends right at a cliff!" Chip wailed. "Do you see the size of those things? One mess up and you'll be sucked right in! Easy? This could turn into a matter of life and death!"

"Chip, take it easy. I know the sight of three huge whirlpools of water unsettles you just as much as the next guy-"

"Hmph, you're probably more terrified than I am."

"-so we just need to think this through carefully and not make any sudden or risky moves." I did a double-take. "And yeah, your statement is true as well. Now let's go."

From where we stood, I could finally see the other side of the boardwalk. It stopped in midair, however, so I didn't see how in the world I was supposed to get up there. Of course, there were two poles of all things sticking out of the tempest, but I didn't think I could jump all the way to the boardwalk from there. I cracked my knuckles and stepped on a mossy rock positioned below us.

"This is going to take every ounce of my maneuvering skills, my cleverness, and my quick wits to get by…too bad they're all cut in half during the night."

Chip folded his arms. "You know that's not true! Besides, if you ask me, I think they're increased at night!"

I just shrugged- in actuality, I doubted anything among those lines changed anyway. I waited at the second rock for the whirlpool to spin back around and bring a raft with it. When it finally arrive, I carefully jumped onto it. Within the same second I wondered what the heck I was getting myself into.

_I wonder if Chip realized he could just fly over to the other side…_

It started out somewhat serene, and I thought I would fall asleep while on the raft. But instead, I jumped to the next platform and awaited the next raft of the next whirlpool. As I got onto it, my eyes caught sight of the second whirlpool. To me, it seemed bigger than the first one! Chip also noticed I was starting to get a bit spacey and started to snap his fingers in front of me. The whirlpool…it was like its waves were hypnotizing me-

"Sonic! Why are you zoning out? SONIC!"

"Whaaaaat?"

Snapping out of the trance nearly caused me to fall of the raft, and I was quick to make sure that that didn't happen. I glanced at Chip and raised an eyebrow. Chip shrugged.

"What? It looked like you were going to get stuck staring into the center of the whirlpool all night!"

"Er…sorry…this place has suddenly become a combination of beautiful and bone chilling…"

Not speaking about it anymore, I leapt over to a small slab of land jetting out of the cliff where a switch was placed. I pulled it, but nothing of interest happened- a platform arose out of the center of the whirlpool. Taking a second look, I rethought that and grabbed onto a flying Pest that had emerged out of the darkness.

_For the record, I had no idea what to expect._

It took me to the platform, where another Pest was waiting for me. Somewhat hesitantly, I hitched the ride. As it flew forward, I slowly started to realize that it was headed right for the poles, and the platform was submerging back into the depths of the water, meaning I had no where to go back to.

"Sigh…looks like I'll have to roll with this…"

I latched onto the closer pole, then watched as the Pest silently flew away.

_Can you imagine being in the middle of three huge whirlpools hanging onto a pole like no tomorrow? It's quite the experience._

I really had no idea what to do next. Like I had predicted before, I couldn't really jump to the dock from the poles, and I couldn't see any other way to get up there. Chip, meanwhile, must have read my mind from earlier, because he had flown away from me and sat on the edge of the dock, waving at me and wishing me luck. I would have waved back, but I didn't want to risk falling off the pole.

...On the other hand, I didn't want to end up dangling here for the rest of my days, so I maneuvered to the next pole and slid down onto a raft that was passing by. This one belonged to the third whirlpool, and mark my words, it was bigger than the second one- at least, to me. I might have been getting paranoid.

There was also something…suspicious about the third whirlpool, but I couldn't figure out what. I forgot about it for the time being and jumped onto a ledge before it knocked me off my raft. When it passed harmlessly under, I jumped back onto it. The next thing it was going to pass under was another dock, but this one had a place that I could grab onto. I stretched my arms upward and gripped the edge of the dock.

"Okay…I'm doing really good so far, let's keep this up…" I murmured nervously to myself. Chip was still at the far side, watching me like I was in the middle of an adventure movie.

_It would only be a matter of time before Chip got his hands on some popcorn._

Now, the only way off the dock was via a pole that hung straight down, and if I didn't time it right, I'd miss the raft and plunge to my doom. Nevertheless, I reached over from where I was and proceeded to cling to the pole. As I hung there, I found out what was so suspicious about the third whirlpool.

_The rafts went straight to the center instead of barely drifting along the edge._

"This whirlpool is sucking up everything in its path!" I winced. Now I was way too apprehensive about everything- if I got on a raft and couldn't get off in time, the whirlpool was going to swallow me up in one large gulp!

It took a while for a raft to arrive, and during the time I had to wait, I became even more nerve shot. By a pure miracle, I let go of the pole and landed at the very edge of the raft. I felt a small yelp escape my throat as I scooted closer to the middle. I glanced back up at Chip- there was still no way for me to get over there! I started to panic- the raft began to crawl slowly toward the middle of the whirlpool before it would plummet toward the bottom of the water.

"Sonic, you might wanna get off the raft soon…"

I couldn't respond to Chip- my voice was stuck in my throat. The waves seemed to get a bit more reckless as I neared the middle. They were slapping me left and right and it wasn't making me feel any better. I had at least wanted to close my eyes before drowning in my wet fate, but my eyes were locked open. Chip continued to yell at me to "move or something". The raft reached the middle and vanished beneath the water.

"…AARGH!"

Chip screamed in surprise when I burst out of the water, wailing and clawing at the air. At the last moment, I had double-jumped to get away, but it was only going to prolong my inevitable fate. Instead of greeting my demise on a cute little raft, it would be in the form of me crashing under the waves.

Then, at what could have possibly been the very last second, a flying Pest appeared, and as soon as I registered that it was there, I clung onto it securely and had some very intent plans of not letting it go. The Pest took me upwards, where two of its friends were playing around in the air. I grabbed one of them, then swung over to the next, and I finished by letting go and tumbling next to Chip, shivering.

"You're alive, Sonic!"

_If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that..._

"Oooog…" I moaned in response, rolling down the boardwalk an collecting rings in the process. "I'm…never doing that…again."

Chip was ignorant of my wanting to stay on the ground, as he was tugging my arm as if it was a rope. "C'mon, Sonic! I can see the Goal Ring from over here! It's just on the other side of the boardwalk, let's go!"

"Gruh…"

I meekly pushed myself to my feet, still feeling a bit shaken up about the close brush with a watery grave. When I managed to stumble my way to the area where the Ring was, I suddenly regained my senses and pulled Chip to my side before he could head on over.

"What're ya doing? It's just over there- we can be done!"

"No, it's not that simple…" I trailed back, taking a few steps in the opposite direction.

"Hey, if monsters didn't jump up in front of the Goal Ring in Holoska, the same could apply here as well!"

"Yeah, well, this isn't Holoska…stay here while I give the place a quick scope."

_I find it really weird how Chip and I tend to swap with who's cautious and whose willing to walk right into danger._

I didn't trust an open area in front of a Goal Ring for a second- I'm still in shock that there wasn't any monster ambush in Holoska, as a matter of fact. But here in Adabat? Well, it was only going to incline from here on out, wasn't it?

I didn't find anything all that suspicious, and I could hear Chip in the background egging me to just go to the Goal Ring. I still wasn't going to buy it just yet, and I located a hole in the cliff that had been barricaded by a ton of rock. Winding my arm back, I slammed it into the rock wall, but it only left a mere crack in it.

"Oh come on! I can break the door of a safe in one punch, but when it comes to ice and rocks, I have to put in a lot more effort!"

Grunting, I continued to wail on the rock wall until it broke, and I poked my head through. The wall had blocked off a small cove! However, when I noticed 20 and 30 Rings scattered about, I knew that my suspicions were right.

The glowing purple force field shot up, blocking the edges of the coast as Nightmares emerged out of the sands. I took a few steps back and prepared a battle stance. Just as I got ready to charge with my first attack, Chip came flying up behind me and nearly knocked me over.

"Good gracious, Sonic! Monsters suddenly appeared in front of the Goal Ring, and now the Goal Ring is blocked off! I can't believe- oh, it looks like your hands are full."

"Yeah, just a little," I replied snarkily, smashing my fist into the nearest target. "…but I told you so!"

It was me versus two flying green Pests (I recognized them as the ones that could create electricity) and a monster that reminded me of Eggman because of the shape. With a closer look, it resembled more of a plump beetle, and just when I thought this battle would be somewhat simple, the beetle spewed out red Pests…

_…from the mouth on its stomach._

"That just ain't right!" I yelped in a high-pitched tone. Next thing I knew, I was swarmed by red Pests, being shocked within an inch of my life, and getting slugged in the head. As annoying as the Pests and Shockers were, it was probably in my best interest to take out the big beetle. When they finally allowed me mercy, I backed away from them all and recollected myself. Then, not caring if a bigger enemy was lurking around the Goal Ring, I Unleashed again and plowed straight into the beetle. Lucky I hit it in the back, because I knew for sure that I didn't want to get gobbled up by its tummy.

It fell forward right onto its face, and I continued to lay down a beating. Chip even helped me out by using the flash on his camera- and luckily, just the flash.

_I didn't want a picture of an ugly creature in my scrapbook._

So once the mighty beetle was felled- there wasn't much he could do about me- I started on the Shockers. They were preparing to blast me with all the voltage they had, but I was faster. I grabbed one with one hand, made it collide with the other Shocker, then shoved them both to the ground. They weren't very strong as well, and they returned back where they came from. If the Shockers were easy, then the Pests were going to be a piece of cake!

"Time to show 'em who's boss!"

One glance at the blue halo surrounding me and the red Pests were cowering in a corner. I chuckled- they were doing my work for me! Since they were all in a convenient place, I barely had to slash at them to dispatch them all. Part of me expected the fields to fall, but then I remembered that Chip said monsters were in front of the Goal Ring as well. I wasted no time in collecting the rings loitering around, then running out of the cove and skidding around the corner.

"See? See? Just like I told you!"

When I got there, I thought it was just two witches (which would have been bad enough) but flying red Pests accompanied them. I focused what remained of my Unleashing with one of the witches, but I was knocked to the ground (and out of Unleashed mode) by an acid ball one of the Pests threw. I cringed as I grabbed my shoulder.

"Not again…"

I pushed myself up and dared for one of my foes to approach me. None of them did, since they had the projectiles to hit me from afar with. I ducked under magic blasts and acid rains.

"Hey! Just cause you can hit me from far away doesn't meant I can't do the same to you!"

I skidded to a stop then slung my arm out. I made direct contact with a pest! I had wanted to get rid of the witches before they conjured up more enemies, but the Pests were simply easier prey at the moment.

And that's when I noticed I hadn't hit a Pest- I had overlooked one pretty important enemy…

_For the love of rings, I had hit one of those darned Bomb nightmares!_

"Time to change up the strategy…" I murmured under my breath, running away from the bomb as it chased me down. Right before it detonated, I charged right in-between the witches, and if luck would have it, the Bomb plowed straight into them and exploded. The witches were strewn across the ground, and I was quick to finish them off with a Were-Hammer.

"Three down, two to go!" I grinned, grabbing the two Pests and throwing them against the nearest wall like bouncy balls. They ironically ricocheted off the wall, giving me another chance to strike them down and defeat them. With a slipping smile, the force fields collapsed and allowed me access to the Goal Ring. Chip told me good job, but I hardly heard him- I was staring forward, trying to see as much water as I could from where I was.

_If I ever have a nightmare again…it's probably going to be about whirlpools._


	34. When Three Becomes Four

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Chip and I walked down a path located behind the Goal Ring, and it didn't take long to notice that we were slowly getting deep in the jungle. I ran along the path silently while Chip was constantly swinging his head back and forth to make sure nothing would spring out at us.

"It's way too quiet here…I don't like it…" Chip moaned. I just grabbed onto a ledge and pulled myself up- a bunch of spike balls were blocking the path, so I was going to have to take the high way.

"Just take a few pictures, Chip. That way, if anything's out there, you can scare 'em off!"

I leapt off the ledge, grabbed onto the edge of a cliff, and pulled myself up there as well. Chip was still convinced that something was going to jump out and eat him.

_Hopefully he wouldn't be right like he was with the monster and the Temple of Ice._

I casually walked a few steps from where I had landed…then I smashed my snout into a force field that decided to get in my way. Rubbing my face, I groaned and turned to see what I would be facing this time around. Red Pests, Shockers, and Witches- hooray.

"Well, if this doesn't prove that this place is nothing like Holoska was, then I don't know what will!"

Chip gave me a look, which quickly vanished when he narrowly missed being electrocuted. I really didn't feel like fighting- but then again, I never did at night- though it was the only way to get by. Sighing, I grabbed a Shocker and tossed it into one of the Witches, doing harm to both. The Shocker must have panicked or something, because it was starting to spew sparks like crazy.

_If I didn't hate Witches so much, I would have felt sorry for it._

Well, one Witch was out of commission, and I used the same Shocker on the second Witch. It spazzed out again, defeating the next Witch, and destroying itself in the process. Before I could ponder whether or not that was morbid, the other Shocker crashed into my head and started electrocuting ME. I tried to get away and get it off me at the same time, but I couldn't see where I was going and ended up tripping over a stray Pest. Next thing I knew, I had high voltage shooting through my body while being dog piled at the same time.

"Get off of me! Grrr…"

I was on the verge of unleashing again, just to repel them all off, but I didn't think it was a good idea to use all that negative energy so often. So I settled for flinging them all off my back before going on a killing spree. The Pests were down in seconds, while the Shocker was being a bit more tricky. Every time I'd go in for a punch, he'd light up in electricity, and I couldn't touch him. When he finally let him guard down, I smacked him so hard that he went flying into the force field, just like I had. I stretched my arm over to grab it, then I dunked him back into the ground. He didn't know what hit him.

"A rough finish there, huh?" questioned Chip, flying up to me as the force fields went down. I turned and headed down the path.

"It was getting on my nerves…" I muttered back with a pathetic excuse.

The path we were going down didn't last very long because a large tree sat smack dab in the middle of everything. Something about the pegs protruding out of the tree told me that I would have to climb it. Chip evidently thought this as well, because he was already leaping from peg to peg and making his way up. I grunted and hung my head low for a few moments, then started after him. I reached up for the first peg and pulled myself up. It wasn't as hard as I thought- all I had to do was let go at the right moment and I'd be able to reach the next peg.

_Of course, if I let go at the wrong moment, I'd go flying into a bed of spikes placed in very inconvenient spots._

"See, that wasn't so bad!" remarked Chip, swinging his legs over the edge of the tree as I caught up with him.

"I never said it was bad in the first place…it was a pretty short climb-"

"Yeah, but I could just tell by the way you groaned that you were irritated! And I-"

"Move!"

I grabbed Chip and dove out of the way as a Nightmare went into attack us from a distance. The ball of acid it shot landed right where we were once standing.

"You know, we probably should find out what each of these things are really called," Chip suggested as I punched the nearest one over the edge. I then turned around and gave him a look.

"Hey! What's wrong with my nicknames?"

"Nothing! I was just saying, before this adventure is over, we should probably find out what all these creatures are really called!"

"Well when we return to Shamar," I began, grabbing a red Pest and throwing it into another one. "We'll see if Tails knows about what they're really called."

"Or Amy might know too!"

"Or Amy…"

Considering the creatures that ambushed me were of the simple variety, the battle was too easy! All it took was a quick bonk on each of their heads, and they'd returned to the place where they came from. The force fields went down, and we could continue on.

Beyond where I had battled to incredibly weak set of monsters was a path that literally branched off the tree. It was lit by a single torch, making the night somewhat brighter. Beyond the jungle I could hear (and sort of see) a waterfall rumbling in the background.

_If I was daytime and if I could see it, it would be sweet!_

At the end of that path was a bar jetting out from the side of an entirely different tree. Glancing beyond it, I frowned slightly when I saw that to get to the other side, I'd have to swing across.

"At least I'm not climbing poles," I sighed, grabbing the first one and swinging myself to the next.

"Look on the Brightside, Sonic!" Chip exclaimed, hovering next to me. "Once we get out of this place we'll be done here!"

I blinked, still making my way through the menagerie of bars. "Oh yeah! This is the third area, right?"

"Yup!"

Believing that this really would be the last area, I hastened my pace and continued to maneuver through the trees, chuckling to myself.

"Heh, I remember when I got mad that there was three areas we needed to go through back in Apotos?" I asked with a laugh. "Now I'm flying on through without a complaint!"

"Yeah! We're so close now…" Chip trailed, clenching his fists. "Can you believe we've saved the majority of the planet already?"

"Hardly," I replied, letting go of the current bar and landing on another path. "How much longer do ya think this'll take?"

Chip shrugged. "Not too much longer I hope!"

_That's what I always hope._

Walking along the branches of a tree wasn't all that exhilarating, but I'd do whatever it took to get me out of there. Sure, the nightly view wasn't too shabby, but the lack of action was slowly starting to drive me crazy! It reminded me of why I disliked nighttime in the first place- I was a monstrous version of myself, my speed was ripped away from me, it was so tedious…

But then I looked back and realized that it wasn't that bad. If plodding through the night to secure a tablet to put the world back together really was as bad as I had once thought, then I probably wouldn't have been standing here now! I used to think my night adventures were terrible because they were all just so different than what I was used to, but now I was thinking…it was showing me a whole different side to my life that I would have never noticed before!

"And if I hadn't been turned into a were-beast," I muddled to myself. "I probably wouldn't have been able to restore as much of the world as I have already…and I might not have met Chip…and…well…maybe his memories wouldn't be lost-"

"Sonic, you're talking to yourself again."

"Gah? !"

"I'm just glad you're not comparing yourself to inanimate objects anymore!"

"Yeeeeaaaah…"

_I also hope I'm not suddenly stressed again._

Shaking my musings away, I returned my attention on the path ahead- just beyond the lumbering trees of the jungle was a structure of sorts, containing the Goal Ring! Bad news, there was a giant chasm between me and ring, but the good news was that there was a ton of flying Pests around to help me get over there!

"C'mon, let's hurry Chip!" I exclaimed, latching onto the first one and beginning to make my way over. It took me upwards, when I let go of that one and grabbed onto a green one. Fearing that it would shock me (since green ones were very capable of doing that) I realeased it instantly, then stretched my arm up and grabbed the next one. Chip, meanwhile, had floated on ahead and was now waiting for me where the Goal Ring was tucked away at.

"Be there in a moment!" I called over, grabbing the last creature who took me over to the structure. I started swinging myself, letting go just as I was above the ground.

_I should've known when I landed the monsters were going to pop out._

"ACK! Sonic!" Chip wailed, trapped on the other side of the force field. I waved my hand to assure him it was okay, then scouted out what I'd be against- two large Nightmarish "rhinos" and two "spontaneous combustors".

"Don't worry Chip, this shouldn't take too long," I promised, running toward the first large Rhino and striking across the face. I apparently packed more of a punch than I thought it would, because it stumbled backward from the blow, slipped on the edge, and fell into the abyss. I glanced over the edge myself and shivered.

_Not a comforting thought at all._

Returning my mind back to the fight, I provoked the two bombs, then lured them to the remaining Rhino. They fell for the trap easily, seeing as they both blew up in their comrade's face an destroyed themselves in the process.

"Like I said," I lifted the rhino over my head and started spinning him around. "This was totally simple."

I let go of the monster, and he went flying like I had snapped a rubber band. The force fields fell, the path was clear, and Chip came flying up to me like being separated for that brief amount of time was the worst thing that could've ever happened to him.

"Sonic!"

"Easy Chip, it was no big deal!"

We both laughed lightly as we approached the Goal Ring, both excepting this escapade in Adabat to be over. But to our horror…not only was there no Tablet, but there was still more to the path as well.

"Wait…what? ! There's a fourth area? !" I gaped. Chip went absolutely insane.

"Good gosh, that's blasphemy!"

"As in…there's more…to go through…?" I winced. "Aw man…"

_It was official- Adabat screwed me over. With luck, maybe it would make up for it in the daytime._

. . .

We continued through the night, me feeling a bit disappointed that we had more ground to cover while Chip tried to cheer me up by taking several pictures. A few of them were actually pretty good, and we started to debate over which ones we should put into the scrapbook. I happened to like one where I was staring out at the starry night sky…and that's when I noticed that we were wandering around in a set of ruins.

"Well, this is interesting…"

"What's that Sonic?" Chip asked, snapping a pic of a tree. "How heavenly the ruins are?"

"Well, yeah, but…I was thinking about how the tablet is at the end of these ruins…kind of like how it was at the end of the temple of ice, right?"

"Yeah, that is peculiar…" Chip agreed. "In any case, let's hurry so we can go back to Shamar!"

I then frowned. "Man, I just remembered…it's night in Shamar too! Meaning when we get back, we have to go through the night over there!"

_Yeah, _that_ certainly gave me something to look forward to._

I stopped thinking about what was bound to happen and grabbed onto a ledge jetting out of a cliff. The trick to this was that I couldn't just inch my way over willy-nilly- spikes were jetting out of the cliff as well, and getting impaled was not written anywhere in my schedule.

"All right, just gotta take it easy…"

"Careful Sonic! It'll pop back out at any-"

"Do _not_ do that again!"

"Sorry, force of habit…"

Oddly enough, it was a lot easier than when I was scaling a cliff in Apotos (can't say the same for Chun-Nan), but I think that was only because I had the experience.

_And Chip wasn't trying to 'assist' me._

I had a few close calls with the spikes, moving out of the way just as they shot out…and I really didn't want to think about what would happen if one of them had managed to strike me. I bounded off the cliff and grabbed onto a pole sticking up from the nearest place with footing, then lowered myself down easily. When I turned around, it looked like I was at a dead end.

"Well great," I grumbled, swatting at random pots placed on the cliff side. A green lamp was dangling off a branch of a tree right next to me, and fireflies were swarming around it, naturally. As I stared at it, Chip nudged my shoulder and pointed at a switch on the other side of the ledge I had missed. Reaching over from where I was, I adjusted the lever, and suddenly a lift of some sort pulled right up to us.

"Oh cool! A heavenly view, scenic ruins, and we don't even have to walk!" cheered Chip.

"Don't get so comfortable Chip…" I trailed, stepping onto the moving platform. "You know these places tend to be trapped…"

"But this place was kind enough to give us a lift! It can't be that bad!"

It took us to a northern cliff, where we could see the view of the sky even better than ever before. I whistled as I stepped onto to the land while Chip snapped a picture. When it turned out, he gave it me to take a look.

_It looked like I was howling at the sky._

"Kinda cool, huh?" Chip asked. I shrugged, handing the photo back to him.

"You certainly have a knack for photography…"

"Wouldn't it be cool if I'm actually some sort of photographer?" he started flying around, spinning with his camera.

"Well, that would certainly explain why you have the camera skills in the first place," I replied, starting to walk off.

"Yeah…I can see that! Chip: Pro Photographer!"

That managed to get a small chuckle out of me, but I stopped laughing when some of Dark Gaia's minions emerged out of the ground. And unfortunately, one of them happened to be large and red and ready to smack my head right off my shoulders.

_I had no idea what to nickname it, because it actually made me shudder._

A bunch of killer red bees started to swarm me, and I thanked the stars twinkling above my head that I had several crates at my disposal. I grabbed one and hurled it at the bees while the big brute stayed in one spot- right next to the way out of this area. I winced a bit, ducking under an oncoming bee then squashing it into the ground. I ran over to a small ledge where two 30-rings were, and two bees followed there as well…along with the brute.

"So, decided to come and play, big guy?" I asked, grabbing the two bees in each of my fists and throwing them at the face of the biggest foe. Apparently I hit him a little too hard, because his hand when flying to his face as he let out an inhumane roar. I just collected one of the 30-rings then socked him with my fist. Since I was on the ledge, I realized it was a lot harder for him to reach up his club and, well, club me in the head. Still, I hurdled over his head and grabbed one of two crates sitting in the corner he had been guarding. He turned to face me, but as soon as he did, he was well-met with a wooden crate.

"And there's more where that came from!" I called, chucking the other crate as wall. It shattered against the monster as well, but I could tell it was far from being defeated. He swung at me with its mallet, but I rolled out of the way and struck from behind him. He roared, then whirled around and smote me in the head.

_And let me just say that it hurt worse than falling out of the sky face first._

As I threw my head back and howled in pain, Chip flew up from nowhere and pushed me out of the way from another beating. He looked at the brute, then turned back to me, looking worried.

"Are ya gonna hold up, Sonic?"

"Yeah, I'm not that stunned…" I groaned, still rubbing my head. "But that really hurt…"

Standing back up, I tried to charge at the monster, but it swatted me away and I skidded on my face.

_Apparent the face is the target for all pain-inflicting._

I wiped a bunch of grass off my face, then turned around and growled at the brute. He hissed at me in return, thundering over and set to clobber me like no tomorrow. Standing back up in a defensive position, I threw my arms behind me and sneered as I was overtaken by a blue aura.

"You'd better not make me regret this…"

Just like a few enemies before, once the creature saw my blue aura, he seemed to reel back as I approached. In a quick dart over, I punched the brute in the stomach, beginning to make him stumble. With my stretchy arm, I grabbed onto the ledge and made him trip over my arm and bash his head against said ledge. Chip saw what had happened and cringed.

"Ooh…that had to hurt…I think I felt that!"

He tried to strike me against, but I grabbed the club before he struck me. Smirking devilishly, I ripped it right out of his hands and smacked him over the head with it. His pained cry was the last thing I heard of hm before he, the club, and the force field disappeared in a purple cloud.

"Huh, I guess he doesn't like tasting his own medicine," I decided as Chip returned to my side. We entered through the only way out and took in the sight that lie before us.

"Um, Sonic…where do we go…?"

A single lift (Or only one that I could currently see) was right in front of us, along with a maze-like area in the ruins. A cliff was in the middle, there were several places to go along the edges, and there were several rails for the lift to travel on. And unfortunately, I wasn't all too sure on where to start.

"Uh…we'll start by…standing on this thing…" I stammered, climbing onto the lift. I expected it to move, but when it didn't, I figured that there was something behind all of this. In the very middle of the center slab of cliff was a rotating switch. I hopped off the lift and onto the center cliff, walking over and grabbing the handle. "Well, let's take this for a spin…"

I turned it clockwise until it wouldn't move anymore. Now the lift was at the left part of the cliff, rather than the bottom from where I arrived from. I stepped on the lift again, but it didn't move, and it certainly didn't go anywhere. Frowning, I returned to the spinning handle and grabbed it once again.

"Maybe I'm not pushing hard enough…"

Giving it another hard tug, it moved, and so I proceeded to move it forward once again. The lift went from the left to the top, and something told me that this was the way to go…or so I hoped. When I stepped on the lift, two flying nightmares appeared, and I latched onto them to swing myself across the gap before me.

"Well, that went better than I thought."

I walked around the particular edge of the ruin, opening doors loitered around the side but finding nothing of interest. When Chip and I found the other side, the force field went up, and I prepared myself for another battle. Two green witches and several bees were my next opponents.

"Hmph, you know who I'm taking out first, right?" I scoffed, tackling the nearest witch and showing no mercy. I grabbed a nearby bee and slammed it into the witch. The other disappeared and reappeared several times, finally getting me off her friend by conjuring up a sphere of electricity. I cringed and was paralyzed instantly. The other witch doing the same and leaving me perfectly vulnerable. The remaining bees saw its chance to attack and stung me repeatedly. When it came in to hit me again, I crushed it in my fist then threw it at the first witch. I tackled her again, punching her several times until I could literally sense that the second witch was getting ready to blast me again. In a spilt-second, I whirled around so that the witch was in the blast rather than me, and the blow did her in like I had planned.

"Hey, perfect!"

"Good job, Sonic!" Chip cheered off to the side. I gave him a thumbs up, then used the same hand to knock out the witch. She tumbled to the ground, and I struck her several times. A right hook, and left hook, and then a double fisted punch. She tried to get up, but I grabbed her by the throat and pondered over what to do.

"Now how should we finish you off…hmm…"

I then just shrugged and slammed the witch into the ground, causing her to disappear in purple energy, but the force field was still there…

A sharp chill ran up my spine.

"Ooh, I suddenly don't feel so good…"

Two large blue brutes emerged out of the ground. I hadn't even felt myself move when I went to go hide behind the crate.

"Okay, I still have a little bit of power to Unleash again, but I should save it for when I really need it…"

_Naturally I had used it at the wrong time AGAIN._

Entering the fight with a looming feeling that I was screwed, I grabbed one of the crates I was hiding behind and threw it at the first brute, trying to lure it away from the other so I only had to fight one at a time. This plan slightly backfired, because when I got close enough, it grabbed me, threw me to the side, then crushed me with its weapon. The other bad thing about this was that the other brute had caught sight of me and smashed me as well.

"Ah, wonderful…" I muttered, slowly scooting away from any more smashes. "Try and get yourself outta this one, Sonic…"

I performed a risky move- I jumped on the shoulder of one brute and taunted the other. The one I was standing on went to hit me, and so did the other, and I barely missed being hit. Luckily I got out of the way just in time for the one to hit itself on the shoulder while the other whacked his pal in the head. Landing back on the ground, I clenched my fist.

"I'm not quite fast enough to do that…I got away this time because I was lucky…"

That meant I was going to need a better strategy. The monsters were coming at me again, so I had to move again. I chucked another crate, but hardly did any damage to the one I had struck. Plus I was so busy trying to get away from them to think of someway to kill them without getting myself killed, I ended up getting myself stuck in the corner.

_Sometimes I am such an idiot._

"Uh oh…" I gulped, backing up even more into the corner as the brutes closed in on me and rendered me unable to escape. They both lifted their clubs over my head and I just closed my eyes and cringed, knowing I was really in for it…

_…at least, until nothing happened._

I heard a flash, so I perked up one of my ears and cracked open one of my eyes. Then all my senses were on high alert when I saw Chip hovering above me, armed with his mighty camera. Right before the monsters went all out on me, Chip had intercepted and briefly blinded the monsters. They roared and turned to each other, each thinking that the other was me and whacking each other. I chuckled lightly as Chip tossed the camera in his hand, then snapped another shot. Both brutes howled and grabbed their eyes, trying to correct their vision.

"Way to go, Chip!" I called as I ran by, jumping up and punching one in the face. Still in the air, I brought both my fists down on its head, then when I landed I repeatedly beat on its torso like a drum. Its health depleted rapidly, and I finished it off with a kick. It roared and fell on its back, defeated. I then turned to the other brute and grinned as I lit up in blue once more.

"Guess what? You get the special treatment!"

It tried to run, but I was faster and tackled it from behind, punching and scraping at its back wildly. My attack was twice as high, so the damage I dealt drained the brute twice as fast. I showed him a bit of mercy by jumping off its back, only to run around to the front and pound it in the chest. Growling, it went to hit me, but I jumped up at the last moment, landed on the club, waited until it brought the club back to its side, then jumped up and kicked it in the shoulder right before my power wore off. Apparently this was enough to defeat it, because it collapsed to its knees and the force fields finally fell.

"Good work, Sonic!" Chip exclaimed, flying back over to me. I shook my head.

"Nah, I was playing pretty stupid in that fight. If you hadn't helped out, I'd be a mashed hedgehog with a side of gravy. You're the one who did the good work!"

Chip just sheepishly shrugged. "Well, I saw you were in trouble, so naturally I helped out…"

I nodded as I started to walk off again. "And naturally, I thank you."

_Cameras: The New Weapons of Mass Destruction._

Chip and I then climbed up a path considering entirely of floating rocks, as odd as that may be. The end had to be getting close, I figured, and I really hoped that it was. Although I was afraid if I talked about it, I would jinx myself again, so I kept my mouth shut on the subject.

I grabbed onto a pole, climbed to the top, then jumped off and gripped the edge of a nearby rock. Pulling myself up, I looked onwards- I saw the Goal Ring, which was relief, but…there was a bunch of unstable-looking rocks as well, floating before it, and a bunch of rings were scattered about as well.

_Figures. One last fight before I can claim victory._

I took a deep breath and slowly made my way to the Goal Ring, secretly hoping that was I suspected wouldn't come true. Of course, I had gotten was I expected, because the very moment I stepped on one of those floating rocks, a force field shot up in front of the Goal Ring…and in front of the only stable ground as well.

What I had to fight didn't seem so bad though- three Pests and a witch. Basically, I would just need to take the witch out then defeat all the Pests in one fell swoop! I just hoped some mega-monster wouldn't emerge like previously…

So I carefully stepped onto a jade-colored rock, only to instantly jump off when I felt it start to rumble. Glancing behind me when I landed on a regular rock-colored one, I saw that it had fallen.

"Okay…the green one are very unstable…"

I made my way to a ledge that seemed promising- there was hardly anywhere to fight, but at least I knew I wouldn't be going in for a punch only for the ground to fall beneath my feet. The witch started to approach me, which was just what I was hoping. I reached for a nearby pot, then shattered it over the witch's head. She obviously wasn't too happy about that, because she blasted a ball of electricity at me. I dodged, then counted by striking her side. She was off kilter briefly, but then I grabbed her and slammed her into the ground, like the witch before her. Making sure she couldn't get up, I stepped on her then let loose with every punch and pummel I could think of. Then, right before she was fully defeated, I grabbed her, spun around, and let her fly- she bowled into the three Pests and took them down with her. When I saw that the forced field hadn't gone down, I was a bit nervous, but then I relaxed when it was the exact same set of enemies as last time.

"Well, okay then!" I chuckled, grabbing the witch and slamming her into the Pests several times. The Pests were cleared out easy, and for a final hit on the witch, I tossed her into the wall. Yes even after I beat that wave, the force field still didn't disappear.

"Aw man…"

Wearily looking over my shoulder, I was stunned again when another witch appeared, accompanied by three more appeared!

"Okay, something weird is going on…" Chip deduced as I repeated the fighting cycle on the next round.

"Hmph! I can take on as many foes as the night wants to throw at me! …maybe!"

Now that I had a nice little fighting style, I made quick work on the monsters and glanced at where the force field was…

_It had finally gone down._

"Whew! About time!" cried Chip. "For a moment, I thought something weird was going on!"

"We're finally done," I groaned in relief, practically skipping across the jade rocks and landing on the solid path. "We can head back to Shamar…and do it all over…again…"

I marched down toward the Goal Ring, resting in a spot surrounded by tranquil-looking blue water, and grabbed the tablet fragment adorned with a blue jewel. Smiling to myself, I pocketed it, then lead Chip back to the village. It was finally time to go.


	35. As the Night Grows Longer

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"So we got another tablet fragment," Chip mused on our way back to Tails. "Shamar's up next, right? Let's get to it!"

I chuckled. "Now you're starting to sound as anxious as I am!"

"I guess you're rubbing off on me!"

_I _do _tend to have that effect on people._

We finally found Tails, slouching in the seat of the Tornado. When he spotted us, he sat up instantly and waved frantically.

"Hey guys, you're back!"

"Sure are Tails!" I exclaimed, climbing into the plane. "Anything interesting happen while we were gone?"

Tails shook his head. "Nah, just chatted with Professor Pickle on my Miles Electric about Dark Gaia and occasionally talked to Amy about the planet breaking apart in the past and about you."

"…What kind of things were ya talking about me?" I asked, suddenly curious. Tails shrugged.

"I just ranted on about how awesome you are while Amy droned about her 'plans' that she had for you in the future. I have no idea why she spilled all that to _me_, though…"

I pressed my mouth into a thin line as I thought that one over. Chip hopped into the plane, Tails started it up, then Chip started talking about all that we went through in Adabat, and they started getting on a topic about geography. Me? I was thinking about Amy.

_And no, not in the way you might think._

"She said she missed me…though that's not too surprising…she said we don't hang out as often…that's also true…and I still feel kinda bad for not really paying much attention to her…"

Long story short, Amy was basically the only one I hadn't "helped out" yet. Tails and I were on good terms, with me not having to worry about him too much, and now he and Chip were able to carry on a casual conversation…and Chip, well, it was only obvious I was already helping him out.

_The only problem with Amy was that I didn't know how to make her feel better without having her think there was something "more" to my intentions._

No wonder she had chosen Tails to vent to- she hoped that her words would possibly reach me, and maybe that I would think twice about things. Man, why did Amy have to be so complicated?

Perplexed, I leaned back with my arms behind my head and shut my eyes. I was going to somehow do something nice for Amy, no matter what…but what was I going to do? I attempted to figure it out as I took quick nap on the way back to Shamar.

_And I was praying that no images of whirlpools would dance in my head._

. . .

Back in Shamar, we headed for the lab, because Chip had told Tails of how he wanted to figure out what all the monsters' real names were, but we ran into the Assistant first. He was actually pretty happy to see us, considering Dark Gaia's influence was able to reach him at night…

_But then again, the monster that originally possessed him was brutally beaten by me._

"You spoke with the professor right? You need to find the temple door immediately. I may not be of much assistance, but you have my full support."

"Okay, cool!" I exclaimed. "But…we were going to visit the Professor really quick…"

"Oh, that's all right too. Head on by!"

**The Lab-**

When we entered, I was surprised to see Professor Pickle eating a cucumber salad rather than a cucumber sandwich. He noticed our return and gave a friendly wave.

"Hello, Sonic! Shouldn't you be finding the tablet to get you into the moon side of the temple?"

"Yeah, but we just have something we want to figure out really quick. It won't take us very long at all!" I explained. I then looked around curiously. "Say, um…where's Amy?"

Pickle took another bite of salad before answering. "She went to bed already. It is pretty late, but for us, that hasn't really been of the essence lately."

"Still, I'm surprised she wasn't waiting for Sonic to return," Tails mused as he started to scan the library of books for one that contained info on the monsters. I glanced at the floor.

"I am too…"

As Tails and Chip hunted down a book that contained the answers to our questions, I slunk out of the room and started to walk upstairs. The last time I saw her, she seemed perfectly fine…but the time before that was when I had thought _that thought_ and rushed out the door.

"I really hope she hasn't been dwelling on that…" I trailed unsurely. "I didn't intend to hurt her feelings…"

As bad as it probably was, the door to the room where Amy was sleeping was ajar, so I pushed it open slightly more to let some light in and so I could lean on the doorway. It was sort of weird, but I simply watched her sleep. Naturally, my thoughts started to wander, as they usually did nowadays.

I felt sort of guilty that I was focusing all my attention of Tails and Chip, and not paying any attention to the one who seemed to need me the most- Amy. Chip had lost his memory, Tails thought he had lost me, and shoot, I was on the verge of losing my _mind_…but Amy? I thought_ I_ wasn't myself- Amy seemed like a whole new person! She never hugged me as hard as usual, she was all-too interested in learning (which was a good thing, I supposed, but it never usually was her cup of tea), and the last time I saw her, right before we left for Adabat…the usual spark wasn't in her eyes. And I should know better than anyone else that that's a sign that something's wrong.

_And I hated to think that it somehow linked to me._

"I'll find a way to fix whatever I've screwed up for her…" I muttered silently to myself. "Like I keep saying, I dunno what, but I'll know what it is when the time comes…"

I glanced at Amy again- her back was turned to me, making it impossible for me to see if she truly was sleeping, or if she was just one of those people who stayed awake when they weren't feeling their best, waiting to see if someone would check up on them.

"I feel like I have to apologize to everyone because of this stupid transformation…I'm the one who landed on Chip and caused him to lose his memories…I was blind to Tails' feeling jealous and replaced…and I guess I'm sorry to you Amy because all of this has probably been harder on you than anyone…"

_Except for me, of course._

Amy finally stirred in the bed, turning over to face the door, and slowly opened her eyes to see if she really had heard someone there.

But no one was at the doorway.

. . .

I would've grinded down the rail of the stairs, but I couldn't, so I simply slid down the old fashion way and returned to the main room where Chip and Tails had cracked open a musty tomb-looking book, scanning the pages. Chip looked up and saw me, ushering me over.

"Sonic! We found the book! C'mon!"

I walked over, wondering if anyone even noticed I had left. Tails and Chip must've been literally hunting the shelves for that book, while Pickle was probably too busy describing the contents of his cucumber salad.

"So what enemy are we going to figure out the name for first?" Chip asked, looking at me. I shrugged.

"The Pest might be a good place to start!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's not called a Pest in here, so I'll just flip pages until you recognize an enemy," Tails stated, already beginning to turn the pages. I watched closely, quickly stopping him when a picture of a Rhino showed up. He scanned the page until he discovered the name.

"This foe's called a Nightmare…there's tougher and bigger versions called Deep Nightmares, and the red ones you may have seen are simply Red Nightmares."

"So Rhinos are just Nightmares," I mused as Tails turned the page and revealed a Pest. "Quick! Stop! That's the Pest! Er, well…one of the forms of Pests."

"I think there's a whole bunch of small enemies that Sonic simply dubbed "Pests" altogether," Chip pondered.

Tails blinked, then looked over the page. "Huh…well, this form of "Pest" is called a Rex, and the red version is known as a Red Rex."

"I haven't seen that type in a long time…" I turned the page again, then flipped out when I claimed that the picture was a Flying Pest.

"Okay, so there's two on this page…one is a Dark Fright, and the other is a Dark Bat. The difference between them is that the Dark Bat is the flying thing that helps you get across gaps, as Chip has told me. You can't latch onto Dark Frights."

"See? Two totally different things!" Chip cried.

_Well how was I supposed to know? I just knew I had to beat 'em all up._

Tails went to the next section, with one page talking about Red Frights and Acid Spitters- which I learned were appropriately named Dark Bat Snipers.

"…and the green one that you call a Shocker is a Dark Bat Thunder," Chip read, heading onto the next page. "Apparently all the Bats are able to be grabbed onto, unlike Frights, but with the Dark Bat Sniper and the Dark Bat Thunder, you have be careful that you're not grabbing onto them while they're attacking."

I made a face and folded my arms. "Yeah, that's great to know now. Erm…ooh! Does it have anything about that self-destructing thing?"

"You mean the Spike?" Tails asked, showing me a picture of said enemy. "That's what it's known as."

_And I gave it such long, complicated name while all this time it was simply "Spike"._

"And look! A whole two pages on witches!" Chip cried, moving on. "The green are Lighting Masters, the red ones are Flame Masters…and there are Cure Masters, Fright Masters, and Power Masters. I think the Cure Masters are the blue ones…but they might be light green-"

"And there's the things I've fought recently," I murmured, now looking at a page with the hulking brutes and the beetle with the mouth on its belly. "Titans and Big Mother…"

"And that's all it says on Dark Gaia monsters," Tails said, shutting the book, "Anything else you'd like to figure out?"

I shook my head. "Nah, we'd better start heading out. After all…" I headed to the door and winked at Tails. "Everyone knows that Day comes after Night!"

Tails caught onto what I implied and smiled. "Okay then, Sonic! Good luck, and see you later!"

"Yes, the best of luck to you, Sonic!" Pickle added, finishing his salad. Chip and I waved at them both, then took off into the village again, ready to find the next tablet.

. . .

We talked to a guy who said that with the world broken up, there wouldn't be as many tourists in Shamar. I found that a bit odd, because the only continents that weren't put back in place were Shamar, Adabat, and whatever the seventh one was.

_But then again, anyone without a plane couldn't exactly get to Shamar…_

The guy was still being quite down about it, and I figured he was being influenced by Dark Gaia, so I left him in search of the tablet I needed.

We found the elder who had a bad tendency to sneeze, going against Chip's protests to see if Layla was still around. I told her that she already had one tablet, so I doubted that she would have the other. This old guy was currently our best bet.

"Waaaa-choo! Pardon me. So you're traveling around, are you? Where are you headed next?"

"Well, we just came from Adabat, but-"

"Adabat, eh? I've heard they've been turned upside down by that earthquake…"

"Yeah…" Chip confirmed sadly.

"Don't tell me you fellows are…a-choo! No, never mind."

Well, he didn't give us anything helpful, so we ventured back to where Layla usually hung out. To our pleasant surprise, she happened to still be there.

"Hi Layla! We used you tablet!" Chip announced as soon as she saw him. Layla giggled.

"I'm glad you got inside the door. You still have a long way to go, though. Good luck."

"See? I told you that she didn't have the other one!" I exclaimed as we walked away and said goodbye to Layla. Chip just sighed.

"Well, where should we go now…it seems like no one has what we're looking for…"

"Someone has to," I protested, now approaching a man name Ethan. Just by the looks of him, it seemed like he was the son of old man we had talked to.

"My pop said he wanted to talk to you. You know, that old man Ehsan. He can be a bit long-winded, but I don't hold that against him."

_Called it!_

"Seems he's taken a shine to you. Thinks of you as his own grandkids."

"That's flattering and all, but we just sort of met him…" Chip laughed nervously.

"I want to know why he didn't just say what he wanted to when we saw him before," I complained, marching back to Ehsan. When we returned, he was still sneezing, as always.

"Ah, good, you're here. I've been expecting you. You're searching for the Temples of Gaia, are you?"

"Yes…"

"Aachoo! Nothing gets by me! When I heard about your travels, I knew immediately. And I have something you youngsters are going to need…this tablet!"

"Yeah, we need that," I said as calmly as I could, slightly peeved that he made us come back after we had _just_ talked to him.

"hmm, well, I…AACHOO! Oh, just take it! Sniff…"

He handed us Shamar's Moon Tablet, and I was really hoping that he hadn't sneezed on it, no offense to him.

"Erm…to the shrine?"

"TO THE SHRINE!" cried Chip, probably loud enough to wake up all the people in Shamar.

**At the Shine-**

Well, now that we had the Moon Tablet, the moon door was glowing, and I knew I had to trudge through more night time. Chip flew towards the door and opened it, using the mystic power of his mysterious orb. He then turned around and made a motion with his arm. I blinked.

"Well? Aren't you going to go in?"

"Uh, yeah…" I replied, heading into the first area of night in Shamar…

_I got the feeling that we'd be coming home late._

. . .

The area we entered into could only be described as city of sand- it was definitely a city…with lots of sand.

_I know, how original._

"I wonder what it's like here in comparison to Adabat…" Chip mused as we started down the street.

"I dunno, this place sort of reminds me Spagonia after dusk…"

Nothing of particular interest happened, as always with the beginning of a new place in nighttime. And as always, right after I complained about that, that's when the enemies showed up.

"Okay, using my newly advanced vocabulary," I began, scoping out to see what monsters were approaching. "It seems I'll be fighting some two Nightmare and two Deep Nightmares first!"

Chip was too busy taking a picture of the pretty moon in the sky. I just sighed and turned to face my foes. A Nightmare tried to be bold and take me head on, which was a big mistake- for him. I socked him in the gut, then bonked him on the head. While he was briefly stunned, I grabbed him by the arms and tossed him at one of his buddies, which was the other Nightmare. They collided into each other and did damage to one another. I added to the pain by slamming a Deep Nightmare into them as well, then striking them all with a Were-Hammer. The first Nightmare was defeated, and I did the same to the other by shoving the Deep Nightmare into it. Angry, the Deep Nightmare I was using as a weapon turned around and smacked me.

"What was that for?" I gaped, grabbing its wrist and hurling it backwards over my head. "_Now_ you have a reason to hit me!"

It growled and teamed up with the other Deep Nightmare, both charging at me. I double-jumped at the right time, reaching down and conking their heads together. Once I landed back on the ground, I heaved them both into the air and hurled them both at the nearest wall.

_Trust me, they certainly weren't expecting that._

They also probably weren't expecting to pull themselves together, only to witness the last thing they'd ever see- my fist!

"RARGH!"

Boom. They were gone. However, when I continued to walk down the road, four more Deep Nightmares ambushed me. They all jumped on me, and I was suddenly crushed by a ton of weight. By a pure miracle, I flung them all off of me, then did a flip and hit one with the back of my heel. They all got back up and approached me again, but I stretched out my arms and began to spin rapidly, sending them right back to the ground. I grabbed one, threw it at another, then ducked under the remaining two so they plowed right into each other.

"Heh, you make this too easy," I scoffed, elbowing one and sending them all back to the ground like a set of dominoes. I picked up the nearest one, then threw him on top of another before I did a cannonball. They squealed in agony before going limp, leaving me to turn my attention on the remaining two. I reached for the tail of one that was trying to run away. Smirking, I began to twirl it, spinning it in a rather large circle. It smacked into the other Deep Nightmare several times, and I didn't let go until the other Deep Nightmare had been defeated.

I released the tail of the remaining one, sending it colliding into a wall with a crash. It fell off the wall, landed on the ground, then vanished. However, the forced field still didn't fall, and I was wondering if there was an enemy somewhere that I had missed.

"Sonic!" I heard Chip cry, his voice coming from above me. "Dark Bat Sniper! Hurry!"

I looked up- Chip was fighting off a Dark Bat Sniper on an upper ledge. I collapsed to all fours, rocketing up the stairs on the left side of the street to reach Chip. I pushed him down to the ground before he was sniped. Then I reached up, grabbed onto the Sniper, did a flip, and whammed it into the wall. Due to its very low health, it only took one hit to beat it. Chip was panting slightly as I glanced down- the field was gone.

"Why'd ya go up there, Chip?" I asked as we climbed back down the stairs.

"I saw it up there, and I thought I could beat it on my own…but I was wrong…" he slightly frowned. "I guess I'm only good at holding them off, but I can't beat one on my own…"

"Hmm…" I mused, starting to walk down the street again. "Maybe you just don't have a fighting style yet! Everyone fights differently, and if you become skilled enough, you can join up with someone and do a combo or something!"

"You mean I just haven't found a way to fight that suits me?"

"Yeah, pretty much. And although it is good to have a little fight in you for emergencies, I wouldn't really recommend it. Violence doesn't solve everything-"

"Unless you're a hero!" Chip interrupted. I shook my head.

"No, being a hero isn't about the kicking butt of a villain…though I admit, it plays a big part, and it's kinda fun- but being a hero is when you do the right thing because, well, you know it's right, even if it's highly likely that you'll fail, you'll do it anyway. You step in when no one else will, sort of…"

"Is that why you're a hero Sonic? Because you do things that no one else is courageous enough to do?"

I shrugged. "Yes, I guess. But I'm not your average hero- I do it for fun most the time, and I really only step in when any sort of freedom is being threatened, or there's someone in trouble," I then smirked. "I sometimes don't like to call myself a hero because in some cases, I look like the bad guy."

Chip was completely appalled.

_Apparently thinking of me as a bad guy is a little too farfetched for him._

"**What! ?** What do you possibly mean by that?"

I shrugged again, continuing down the street. "Well, I broke out of jail once to save the world from being blown up. People had thought I'd committed so many crimes, but I was just being framed…and when I tried to set things right, you don't know how _annoying_ it was to see the people that once supported me suddenly go against me. Of course, I saved the day, and I was loved again."

"Really?"

"Yup. And other times, well, I have to go against people's beliefs just to get what I want done. Sometimes it hurts, but sometimes it just can't be helped."

The conversation was interrupted by me jumping off a ledge and landing in a pit of foes: a Spike and three Killer Bees. I simply provoked the Spike who blew up the bees in return. The fields went down, and as soon as I walked under the arch way, they were right back up again. I made a face.

_What was up with the street fights? !_

It was only three more bees, but they were much more annoying to get rid of than the first batch. After several missed swipes, I finally dispatched them all with the ultimate weapon of a metal crate. Then Deep Nightmares poured through the alleys, and I groaned. There were only two currently by me, but I didn't know if there were any more lurking around the streets.

"Well I don't have time for this!" I yelped, quickly taking out the monsters. "I'm not really in the mood for a melee…"

That was when four Pe- I mean, Red Rexes came running up to me, trying to chomp on my ankles. Being some of the weakest enemies, I kicked them all away, and they instantly were beaten.

_So much for "haven't seen them in awhile"._

As soon as the Red Rexes were taken care of, a Spike appeared, and I was getting increasingly more annoyed by the moment. I grabbed it, feeling it ready to go boom in my hands, but I hurled it at the wall and made it explode upon contact.

Finally, the forced field went down, and I was wondering why this place was so monster infested. Chip returned to my side from wherever he had been hiding and whistled.

"You sure had a lot to take on…"

"Yeah, and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't run into every form of monster in this area at this rate…" I muttered, jogging down the new path lined with rings. I turned to corner and found a whole lot more rings, and was expecting another onslaught of foes, but none appeared.

_Yet, at least._

And speaking of me and my big fat mouth- I took a few extra steps and the monsters came piling in.

"Is this to make up for lost fights in Holoska or something?" I complained, eyeing the eight Deep Nightmares on the ground and two Dark Bat Snipers on the higher ledges. I slammed my fists into the ground sending out a shockwave then sent all four Deep Nightmares in different directions. While they were down, I jumped onto the back of a Sniper, provoking it to shoot. But, since I was latched onto its back, it couldn't hit me. I aimed it at the Deep Nightmares and shot its own snipes at its allies. It took two hits for each Nightmare to get rid of four of them, then I aimed at the Sniper on the other ledge. Once the other foes were taken care of, I threw the Sniper at the wall- I didn't need it anymore.

"Alright, your guys' turn!" I exclaimed, jumping down and rapidly punching any foe I could reach. And considering I could stretch, that was all four of them. They really weren't that hard to defeat, but the problem was that more and more kept coming, and with every little hit and clawing I received, it chipped away at my health. By the time I had fought off the final one, I was pretty exhausted. The rings scattered around helped me restore my health, but they didn't get rid of the fatigue I was feeling.

"This is what happens when I take on the night back to back…" I sighed. "Especially with_ four_ areas…"

Chip gave me a sympathetic look as the force field vanished and allowed me to climb up a set of steps that led deeper into Shamar. I was literally expecting another fight as soon as I walked through, but nothing tried to kill me…yet. Still on high alert, I turned the corner and braced myself. Still nothing.

"What are you freaking out for, Sonic?" Chip asked, pointing to my right. "The Goal Ring is over there!"

"Yeah, and as soon as I try to get over there, the monsters will appear and try to murder me! Again!"

To prove my point, I walked toward the Goal Ring, and a force field went up. I gave Chip a smug look, but the smugness went away and was replaced by…erm, nervousness?

Deep Nightmares, Red Frights, and Spikes. They rose from the streets like the living dead in massive numbers, and I was just surprised a Titan or a Big Mother wasn't added to the mix.

_Unless they were going to rear their ugly faces after I took care of the first bunch._

I grabbed both Spikes and hurled them at the bunch of monsters that approached me, causing all of them to fall onto the group with half of their health depleted. They all were quick to stand back up and begin to circle me, but by some twisted miracle I managed to fend off every attack aimed at me and counter them. The Red Frights were mincemeat, and the Deep Nightmares were a bit harder to fight off, but not by much. The only issue was how many they were. They kept throwing punches, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold them off.

"Get away from me!" I shouted, swinging my claws in all directions, successfully repelling the Deep Nightmares and making me able to beat them all. I was now even more drained of energy, but just as I had predicted, this battle was not over.

_I think I'm psychic. It must be another side effect._

A Big Mother arose out of the ground, and I realized I'd rather have fought a Titan- Big Mother could spawn new little devil creatures, and I was so tired of monsters after this point.

_Monsters in the night were hard to stand before, but after trekking through this area, I had a newfound hatred._

The Big Mother slammed her fists into the ground like I usually would, repelling me away with a giant shockwave. As I lie helpless on the ground, she created another round of Red Frights. When Chip saw that I wasn't moving, he floated down and tapped me on the head.

"Sonic…you're still alive ri-"

His hand snapped away as if it had been burned by my blue glow, unleashing once more. I was doing it more often lately, so why not now as well? I pushed myself off the ground and marched at the Big Mother- the Red Frights threw themselves at me, but a single touched dispatched them all.

I let out a roar before going crazy on the huge foe, doing a barrage of attacks on her. I never slowed up- I didn't want her to sneak an attack in as I whaled on her. I also needed to get in every hit I could muster in. With a finishing jump, then a mean scrape/shove, the Big Mother toppled over, and I got rid of a stray Red Fright that I had missed. The force field dropped, my blue aura disappear, and I felt very tired.

"So, Chip, remember…" I began, picking up where our last conversation left off. "If you want to be a hero, you have to ready for anything. There's not all good things about being a hero...because, on the off chance, you're on an evil-crushing quest, something might go horribly wrong..." I quivered slightly as I tried to finish. I held out my arm, Chip staring at me curiously. "...well, just know that if you screw up, even in the slightest, it could have dire consequences."

He didn't respond- he just nodded slowly as I stepped into the Goal Ring. He had understood what I had meant. I then just put my face in my hands and groaned.

"You want to know something else, Chip?"

"What's that, Sonic?"

"This is the longest night ever."

"I agree."

_But there was nothing we could do but continue to keep going forward. It was the only thing that was going to get us out of this mess._


	36. Deeper into the Desert

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Beyond the City of Sand was a highly rocky area, all sporting scorch marks. Another look around, and I noticed it was pretty hot in a desert for nighttime…but that was because there was fire everywhere I turned.

"I haven't felt this tired since that first time in Apotos…" I yawned, trying to push myself to keep going. "And what adds to the charm of this time around is that I've got _three_ more areas to get through rather than just two…I'll probably fall asleep and walked over the edge of a cliff."

"Maybe the areas will be shorter!" Chip suggested, trying to get me to be perky. But it was hard to be perky when your smile was being weighed down with exhaustion. Despite being tired, I managed to muster up enough energy to climb a winding trail through the rock, following the fire torches lined along the edges. I stopped right before a small drop in the elevation- it was a big space, plus there was some rings…

_Cue battle time!_

Five Deep Nightmares rose to the challenge that was me and dashed forward. They all surrounded me, and I suddenly found myself running on pure adrenaline. I extended one fist and ran at them, only managing to hit two. I ducked under a swinging fist, then reached for one's tail while I was on the ground. Giving it a pull, I tripped the Deep Nightmare, then used it to knock down all the others. Chucking the one I had in my hands into a wall, one of the ones on the ground grabbed my ankle and pulled me down.

"Hey!"

I kicked it off, only for another to grab my arm and slam me into the ground. Slightly discombobulated, I tried to break free, but I was failing miserably. The other three grabbed my other limbs, and the Deep Nightmare I had tossed at the wall still had a bit of fight in him.

"Chip! Help!" I cried, suddenly being stretched out like a trampoline. Chip had started to fly over as fast as he could, but he didn't make it. The fifth Deep Nightmare had leaped into the air and pounded its fist into my stomach. The wind was knocked out of me, and it certainly didn't help when I was tossed into the dirt. The pack of Nightmares snarled at me and approached once again. Chip flew in front of the one I had weakened and snapped a photo, the flash actually putting it out of commission.

I growled as I struggled to get back into action, sticking my leg out and knocking them all down once again. While they were down I stood back up, grabbing them each one by one and throwing them at the ground, at rocks, and at pots gathered around in the corner. They all went limp, and as they disappeared, four Dark Bat Snipers arrived to take their place.

"I guess I can't have just one round of battles anymore, can I?" I sighed, jumping up and pushing two of them to the ground, then finishing them both off with an extra punch. I did the same to the other two, which was enough to get the force field to disappear.

"I hope I can keep up my adrenaline…" I huffed, grabbing the cliff's ledge and pulling myself up now that it was force field free."…because when it wears off, I probably won't even be able to function properly!"

"Who would've thought? An adventure that's bad for your health!" Chip exclaimed.

_And if it's not bad for your health, then you're probably _risking_ your health instead._

"And in other words, I took a sweet picture of you throwing a Deep Nightmare with this rock arch way in the background!"

Chip showed me the picture, and I smirked. He then frowned, however.

"That was right before you needed me, though…"

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm fine now, aren't I?"

Chip nodded, and I continued down the trail. It curved in-between the cliffs towering above us, winding through the rocks. The moon hung above us, shining like a star and bigger than life. My moon gazing was interrupted though- a wall of flames came to life along with a force field, and a Flame Master emerged from the fire. The Flame Master was accompanied by three Deep Nightmares, and if I went to attack the witch, I'd get burned.

"Talk about turning up the heat," I remarked, Chip shaking his head and floating off to the side, ready to help out if needed. I tried to attack the Deep Nightmares, but a suddenly blast of fire singed me and I went toppling into the ground. I rolled around, trying to put the flames of my fur out. The three nightmares advanced toward me while the Flame Master stayed close to the fire wall. The monster started to attack, but I repelled them away with a sudden burst of blue power.

As soon as they saw my new coat of blue, they tried frantically to scramble away, but my arm was faster and grabbed one of their tails. I twirled it over my head with my new found strength, then let it go. It tumbled around in the air, crashing into its two friends and defeating all three of them. Smirking, all I had left to take care of was the-

"ARGH!"

The Flame Master gave me a dubious look after launching its latest attack. I was covering in fire, but the flames quickly faded as I located a barrel of water off to the side. The Flame Master saw what I was about to do and tried to strike me, but I jumped over the fireball, grabbed the barrel, spun around, and hurled it at the Flame Master. The flames were doused, rendering the witch powerless.

"It's all washed up now, huh?" Chip asked as I tackled the Flame Master to the ground and let loose. Once the witch was finished, I grabbed another barrel of water and threw it at the fire wall. The fires were doused and the path was clear.

"The ones that heal and the ones that shoot electricity are still more annoying, but the Flame Masters are definitely a close third."

I climbed up a pole and jumped onto higher ground. Just by looking at the place, I knew there would be a lot of climbing.

_As long as there's no cliff scaling, I'll be fine._

Chip went on ahead, seeing as he had it easy and he could fly over everything. I grunted, pulling myself over ledges and making my way over rocks jetting out of the side of the cliffs. A Flying Pe- er, a Dark Bat was just around the corner, and I grabbed onto it and let it take me across a gap.

"Okay Sonic, just a head's up, there's some pretty narrow footing in this part…" Chip warned me. I glanced behind him- he certainly wasn't lying.

_And it didn't help that there were pots in my way and Dark Bat Snipers shooting at me!_

I slightly gulped as I pressed myself against the wall, slowly inching my way over. Whenever a pot was in my way, I smashed it quickly then repositioned myself before I accidentally slipped off the edge. As I made my way over, I gradually got closer to the Snipers, and I was really hoping that they wouldn't see me-

_Who am I kidding? It was open season on yours truly._

"GAH! GAH! ARGH!"

I hurried to get to the area where the Snipers were so I could destroy them, but at this rate it looked like they were going to destroy me first! It was an onslaught of sizzling red orbs, and every time I moved, one went whizzing right by me! When I finally made it to the edge, I knocked them both out of the air at the same time, then kicked them over the edge. My Dark Bat troubles still weren't over- two more Snipers, and two Dark Bat Thunders as well, appeared, along with three Spikes and two Deep Nightmares.

"Looks like you've got your work cut out for you!" Chip laughed nervously. Seeing the look on my face, he quickly went off to take cover. I sighed, then grabbed two of the Spikes. I threw one at the Deep Nightmare, depleting half of its health, then the other at the Dark Bats. The Snipers were defeated, but the Thunders were not. They were angry too, and I suddenly had several volts hurled at me, making my fur stand out on end. The Deep Nightmare struck me in the shoulder while I noticed the final Spike inching towards me.

"Can you all gather together and say cheese?" Chip asked, flying out of his hiding spot and snapping a photo at just the right moment. The Thunders and the Deep Nightmares were positioned right by each other, making me able to finish them all off by tossing the final Spike at them.

"Great timing, Chip!" I exclaimed, going beyond the battle are and finding a path hidden behind some rubble.

"I guess I redeemed myself," he said with a sheepish grin, catching up and floating alongside me.

The path sealed away by a wall on its left side had jets of fire streaming out of its right side. I was burned once, but after that, I managed to run by them quickly as they were about to blow or jumped over them at the last moment.

_I should've figured the dramatic path was going to lead to something big._

The Goal Ring was up ahead, but before Chip or I had even said anything, the force fields went up and the monsters emerged.

Two Big Mothers, three Rexes, and who knows how many Killer Bees.

"You have got to be kidding!" I whined, wincing as the mass of bees approached me in one giant bunch. I took out the Rexes, then I tried to swipe at the Bees, but they all moved from out my reach and charged in. "Ack! Where's a crate when you need one?"

I really probably should have focused on at least one of the Big Mothers, but I was seriously in dire need of bug spray. I tried to push through the Bees to get to one of the bigger foes, but they both knocked me away by slamming into the ground and sending out a shockwave.

"NARGH!"

The strength of the shockwave was so strong it sent me toppling into a wall. The bee instantly saw easy pray and started stinging me like crazy. Every little poke of their stingers continued to inch me toward the edge. I didn't know how much power I had left, but I unleashed it, and the bees all expelled away from me and disappeared. The Big Mothers saw that their spawns were gone and proceeded to create new ones. I managed to stop one though, by plowing into its back and rapidly punching it.

_One is better than none!_

The Big Mother I was currently fighting started to lose health rapidly, but she wasn't quite beaten yet. The other one, meanwhile, had given birth to five more annoying Killer Bees. I grabbed the closest one and slammed it into the first Big Mother- both were beaten instantly. The remaining Mother roared and pounded its fists into the ground. Luckily, I had jumped up at the right time and even had two of the bees get caught in the blast! Landing back on the ground, I gripped the remaining two bees and smashed them against the Big Mother, taking care of them. The Big Mother went to produce more once again, but I jumped at her and went crazy with attacks.

Chip danced around, trying to use the same moves as I was. "Uppercut! Right hook! Full nelson! A kick in the-"

"ROAR!"

The Big Mother flung me off her back and brought a massive hand down on top of me. I managed to muffle out a sound of pain, but it wasn't like anyone needed to hear me to know that. I pushed her hand off of me, then grabbed it with both of mine. She looked a bit surprised, and I wasn't even if I could pull off what I was about to do.

I gritted my teeth as I strained to pull her off her feet, and after an intense grunting session, I finally managed to do so. The Big Mother hit the ground with a thud, but I wasn't finished yet. I growled again, dragging her across the ground in a circular path. I slowly started to pick up speed and momentum, and Chip just gaped as the Big Mother gradually lifted up off the ground.

"Whoa…"

Soon enough, I was spinning her around like any other enemy, and let her go like the such as well. She collided into a pillar holding up a ledge with a 30-Ring on it and struggled to get back up. The Big Mother glared at me one last time before dispersing into small purple specks and disappearing.

I casually jumped up onto the ledge and claimed the ring, restoring the health that the Killer Bees had stung away from me. Chip was still amazed that I had managed to throw the Big Mother as he followed me to the Goal Ring.

"That was incredible Sonic!"

I grinned. "I do tend to do incredible things!"

Chip smiled back, then waved a hand in front of my eyes. "Just to check, you're still doing okay, right?"

I shrugged. "As in me being tired? I get the feeling that if I fall asleep I won't wake up for a long time…but I think I'm fine now."

"You sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah…the thing I'm worried about is that I'll become so tired that I'll get, like, hyper or something, and then I'll crash."

"Hopefully you can hold up a little longer…"

_I sure hoped I could too._

. . .

Past the Goal Ring was a sort of valley, as Chip and I discovered when we ascended up the path. We didn't even get that far when I found myself trapped in another battle again.

"A guy just can't get a break, can he?"

Two Spikes and about seven Red Rexes. Nothing that took too much effort- I just threw the Spikes at the Rexes and they all went boom. The fields went down, and I was feeling pretty proud of myself for pulling off the quick tactic.

"All right, let's get started for real this time," I said, stretching my arms up and grabbing a bar above me. I used it to swing onto another one and then land on a cliff on the other side of a gap. Chip held up a card that had an "8" on it.

"An 8? That was at least a 9.5!"

"You were lagging on the second swing and you were a bit off on the landing, plus it wasn't all that impressive."

I rolled my eyes and stepped onto a platform, which was the only way off the cliff. Unsurprisingly, when the platform reached its destination and I stepped off, the monsters came rolling in again.

"I remember when the battle were very rare! It was all about the surviving of the night, and now every other moment I seemed to be killing a bunch of neon creatures."

"Things certainly have progressed, haven't they?" Chip questioned, scratching the back of his head.

This round of foes were just Killer Bees, and thankfully this time I had a few crates around me. It took three crate throws to dispatch them, and the force field fell.

"Wow, they might as well not even show up if they're going to be this easy!" commented Chip.

"But they'll show up anyway just to torture me," I groaned, sluggishly carrying on. The path seemed to end, but Chip pointed out that a pile of rocks had caved in on a small tunnel. A few punches turned the rubble into smaller rubble, and the path was clear once again. On the other side of the tunnel was once again an area where I would have to navigate narrow footing. The only difference this time was that the footing was even narrower and there were Fire Blowers trying to knock me off rather than Dark Bat Snipers.

_Now instead of just being knocked off, I'd be fried to a golden brown as well!_

I grunted something under my breath and I crossed over the first path- nothing too bad there. The real issue was with the second path- the Fire Blower was spewing flames right over where I needed to walk! I waited until it stopped blowing, then leaped up and knocked it onto its back. A quick shove over the edge was all it took to get rid of it.

After that, I scanned what I would be navigating next- an even narrower path loomed ahead, along with another Fire Blower that proved to probably be more annoying to deal with than the one before it. I jumped down onto the next ledge, then inched myself onto the thin path. Even from how far away I was from it, I could feel the heat of the flames the Blower lashed out with.

Just like before, I stopped at the edge of the flames when I reached them, waiting for it to stop blowing. The moment it did, I knocked it over from afar with my extended fist, then rushed over and kicked it off the edge as well.

"So that was a bit easier than I anticipated…" I shrugged, carrying on.

I walked down another path that cut through the cliffs, the faint sound of Chip snapping pics being the only sound I could hear besides my own footsteps. I was so focused on the small sounds that when the barriers shot up and the monsters emerged, I let out an unexpected yelp.

_Well, at least I was given a tiny break._

Four Deep Nightmares and two Dark Bat Snipers- if I played my cards right, they shouldn't have been much of a problem. One lunged, curling up and throwing itself at me. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, it plowed into me and I slammed into the barrier.

"What the…"

Another Deep Nightmare jumped up, then crashed down onto me, while yet another swept my feet from under me just as I had stood back up. I groaned, rolling out of the way of the fourth one's attack. Once I leapt back to my feet, I struck the first one in the side with my fist, then did a handstand and kicked it down with both my feet. The other three were looking dazed from my move, and they practically shrunk when I snarled at them. The Snipers were shooting at me like crazy, but were failing since they constantly hit the Deep Nightmares instead.

"How do you like THAT?" I growled, alternatively thrusting my fists against the second Deep Nightmare. It felt defeated, and I worked on the next two. The classic "head-clonk" worked nicely here, and I finished them both off at the same time by shoving my fists into their stomachs, each twice. They fell over with the wind knocked out of them as I ran over to the Snipers. I knocked them out of the air and finished them off afterwards.

"Sonic! The Goal Ring? !" Chip cried, flying around the corner and putting on a shocked look.

_Boy, I wish he hadn't told me that._

I was just as surprised as he was, but just by looking at the area before the ring, I knew I was in for something. First off, there were several platforms hovering over a never-ending abyss that I would have to miraculously navigate. Then there was the suspicious area in front of the Goal Ring, where I was almost positive another set of enemies would jump out. And if that wasn't enough, I had a suspicious feeling that a bigger foe would emerge to crush me, like they seemed to be doing lately.

"Okay…I'm gonna try to take this easy…"

_If it was daytime, I could've jumped from platform to platform in a flash and leapt into the Goal Ring before any sort of barriers bothered to pop up._

I waited for the first platform to come my way, then stepped on it, heading off into the latest challenge. The one I was currently on went up and down, but the other three platforms went left and right, and with close observation, I noticed that they all joined up at one point. Shame I couldn't just bolt across them at that particular point, huh?

The first platform touched the second, and I swiftly jumped onto it. Before I could even attempt to reach the third one, they glided right by each and I found myself impatiently tapping my foot.

"This is going to take forever…yet I can't afford to get risky…"

I irritably waited for the two platforms to cross in that split second again, seizing the chance and leaping over. I hardly alighted onto the next platform, slightly slipping when I landed. I regained by balance quickly, and once again waited on the return of fourth platform petulantly. I glanced over to the Goal Ring spinning around in its little safe zone- it just made the longing to get over there even more unbearable.

At long last, I was finally able to leap onto the final platform, and within the same second I made my way over to the area just in front of the Goal Ring. As soon as I touched down on it, four Deep Nightmares crawled out of the sands and a barrier rendered the Goal Ring unreachable.

"I don't have time for you!" I growled, grabbing one of the Nightmares and throwing it somewhere down into the abyss. The other three I attacked simultaneously, and they weren't hard to batter down at all. Another round of four Deep Nightmares emerged as well, and I took care of them just as quickly.

"You've gotta be kidding!" Chip gaped, watching as _another_ four Deep Nightmares emerged out of the darkness in the sands. I made a face and punched one right off the edge.

"They obviously weren't listening when I said I wasn't in the mood."

One tried to do the midair spin-then-kick like a previous monster, but I caught onto him doing the trick that was all-too-familiar to me and stopped him before he pulled it off. I shoved him into the rest of his buddies, knocking them all to the ground and leaving them unable to survive one more hit. I socked them all, just as easily as the previous Nightmares. It was what came next that was going to be a bit tougher.

_Remember how last time I was wishing I could fight a Titan or two? I got my wish._

The hulking brutes emerged out of the ground after the defeat of the Nightmares, standing on each side me and giving me no option to escape. I did the first thing that came to my mind- I ran at the left one and hacked mercilessly until half its health was drained and it swatted me away like a fly. I spiraled in the air, not stopping until my head crashed against a metal crate.

"Ow…"

_Wait…metal crate…_

Once I pulled myself together, I heaved the metal crate over my head and hurled it at the weakened Titan. I hit it in the chest, causing it to stumble back from the sudden force. Seeing my chance, I jumped onto the crate and pushed off of it, lunging at the Titan and punching rapidly. I didn't stop until the Titan was felled…and the other one started beating on me like a piñata. I whirled my head around and growled at it.

"Wanna play rough, huh?" I sneered, my annoyance rising with the blue glow around me. I had no time to think over why I was constantly abusing this power lately- I just wanted that Titan _gone_. It saw my blue afterglow and cautiously walked away from me, but I charged like a blue lightning bolt and collided into it with such force that I knocked it right over. The loud thud that accompanied the crash could be heard from quite a distance- I think I even made Chip jump!

As I fought the foe, I slowly began to realize how much easier it was to take them all down. Sure, the surplus of fights I had to endure were annoying, and the abundances of the monsters were too, but it really didn't take all that long! If we were still back in, say, Spagonia, I wouldn't have been able to clear out those Nightmares as fast as I did, and I certainly wouldn't have been strong enough to knock an entire Titan over…

_I guess either I'm getting more ruthless or just stronger._

"Huh…" I breathed, the Titan fighting to get back up again, but dropping back down and releasing its club over the edge. It roared lightly before disappearing into the usual purple aftermath. The barriers went down, and the Goal Ring was released from its former ultra violet prison.

"You're probably going to kill me for asking this again," Chip groaned, wringing his wrists. "But I just want to keep making sure…are you confident that you can hold up?"

I waved him off, trotting through the Goal Ring and continuing up the path ahead. "Of course! I mean, we're three-fourths done now! No point in turning back! I feel totally fine! I could go forever now! We'll be done in no time! It's like I'm not even tired anymore!"

_I yawned._


	37. Story of a Tired Nighttime Champion

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Chip hadn't been assured by me telling him I was perfectly fine, but even I knew I was slowly slipping into that state where you go a bit nuts when you're overly tired. There still was no turning back though; we were almost done, as I had said.

Down the path was a large area that surprisingly had no enemies to it- just a single door that was begging me to throw it open. Shrugging, I walked over, wedged my fingers under the bottom, then tossed it upwards. Chip poked his head through the doorway, then ushered me to follow.

"Easy Chip, what could possibly be up ahead?" I said in a chilled tone.

_Apparently doors._

Six doors, to be exact. Chip's jaw dropped while I wanted to know just which one was the way out. I didn't want to throw all of them open, that was for sure. They were made out of ancient stone or something!

Slightly reluctantly, I started on the doors to the left. The first door had nothing in it, but the second one gave me the shock of my life- two Deep Nightmares jumped out from behind it and a force field blocked off all the doors.

"Wasn't…expecting…that," I panted after instinctively beating the Nightmares to a pulp. Just as quick as they had jumped out, the force fields went down.

"Well…we know the consequences of choosing the wrong door…" announced Chip.

Unfortunately for, it was the last door I picked- the upper right one. Slightly peeved, I opened it and stormed on through, ready to get out of that ambushing area. A whole mess of rings were behind that door, which I was in dire need of at that point.

_Too bad I lost several when I ran into a jet stream of fire._

"Heh, this place certainly has a lot of surprises!" I grumbled, my voice dripping with acid as I backed away from the fire.

"That's why you don't go charging around corners- they aren't kidding when they say danger lurks around every one!" Chip exclaimed.

I didn't reply to that. I kept heading on once I got by. There was a fork in the path now- one led to an area blocked off by a fire wall, while the other led to a water barrel that could probably douse out the fire wall. I headed down the smaller path, lifted up the barrel, then trotted back to the area with the fire wall. Four Dark Bat Snipers were waiting for me as well, rapidly firing their projectiles in an attempt to break my barrel. By a stroke of luck, I avoid them all and tossed the barrel at the flames. Afterwards, though, I wasn't as lucky.

"OW! Grrr…you are way fortunate that I don't have to take you out!" I grunted, continuing on since there was no force field that was keeping me back this time. I collapsed to all fours and dashed down the path, leaping over fallen logs and collecting rings five at a time. Chip watched curiously, flying aways above me as I tore down the trail, seeing me jump over anything that got in my way while making sharp turns around corner and darting on.

It was a little way before I ran into any more actually threats, and when I did, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. Two Flame Masters and several Killer Bees were my next round of rivals, and I was ready for them.

"Bring it on!" I shouted, though I sounded slightly distorted.

_Physically ready? Yes. Mentally ready? Eh…not so much…_

Chip blinked. "Man, at this rate, you're going to start sleeping during the day and running around during the night!" he gasped. "You're gonna become nocturnal!"

"I'm _not_ going to become nocturnal," I scoffed, throwing a bee at a wall while grabbing a barrel of water at the same time.

"But- it's all so- I can't believe- this is crazy!" he stammered. I shot him a quick glance before dodging some flames (which luckily burned two bees instead of me) before I hurled the barrel at the closer Flame Master. It froze, obviously stunned from having its power suddenly drained. The bonus to this situation was that I had struck the other Flame Master with water as well.

"All right!" I cried, bringing my fists down on both their heads. They spun around in a daze while I added to the pain by throwing another duo of bees at them. After that attack, they alit with flames again and combined a double-fire attack. I hardly had time to avoid- within seconds, I was on the ground rolling around, trying to put the flames out.

"Cowards!" I heard Chip yell, followed by a heavy splash afterwards. "Hurry and get up, Sonic!"

Turning over, I looked up and saw that all the bees had been washed out by the barrel Chip managed to push over, while the Flame Masters were doused out again. I hopped to my feet and swung my claws within the same move, knocking the witches into each other and bringing them to the ground. Chip kept them stunned with him camera while I dished out a finishing move.

_Maybe I should upgrade him to a digital camera_.

Once I finished with the Flame Masters, I was suddenly pelted in the arm by a burning projectile. There was one more enemy I had missed- a Dark Bat Sniper.

"Snipe this!" I squalled, running straight at it, knocking it out of the air, then giving it a kick. The fields still didn't go down, and Chip pointed to two more Snipers on a fallen balcony- one that lead to higher ground that was current blocked off by the barrier.

I was up there in a flash, intercepting the first and killing it instantly. The moment I took out the second Sniper, the force field went down and I grinned crazily to myself.

"See Chip?" I said confidently, jumping onto the next cliff. "There were no problems whatsoever!"

"Yet," Chip pointed out.

"Nothing's going to happen, promise…"

"I dunno," Chip protested again, flying in front and staring me in the eyes. "The last battle proved to me that you need to go to bed-"

"Well we're in the middle of the desert, and a bed of sand doesn't seem to agree with my sleeping requirements."

"What requirements do you have? You usually just fall asleep in the tornado!"

"Then we return I'm camping out on the wing, which I can't do until we get out of here."

"But Sonic," Chip continued, trying to drag the debate for as long as possible. "If you keep going like this, who knows what could happen! You could have just gone to bed like Amy did, wake up and enjoy tomorrow morning, and then tackle the night again? Do you really think you get two continents out of the way in one night?"

I folded my arms and kept walking. "I don't see what the big deal is. I'm fine."

"I'm just looking out for you…you can give me as many excuses as you want, but the excuses can't make up for the consequences."

_Wow, how profound._

My stern look quickly dissolved as I sighed. "Well, we can't be too far from finding the tablet now, and its pointless to go back. We grab it and go. Simple!"

"But-"

"I promised that nothing's going to happen didn't I?" I interrupted, managing a small smile and a wink. "Have I ever broken a promise?"

"Not from what I've seen…" Chip replied, the edges of his mouth perking up a bit.

"So there's nothing to worry about, m'kay? Not while I'm around."

Chip took a long breath and floated over to sit on my head. It was silent for a little bit before he piped up with, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Defuse situations like that."

I shrugged. "Natural talent."

Before Chip could confirm whether or not that was an acceptable answer or not, I sensed a barrier go up. Apparently we had walked a little farther than I had thought, because I was stuck in another battle again. Chip jumped off my head as I struck a battle stance.

"All right, what trash am I taking out this time?"

"Let's see, you can dispose of the two Flame Masters and you can recycle the four Deep Nightmares!" Chip announced.

I don't think I'd wanna recycle the Deep Nightmares though.

"Then let's start with a splash!" I called, tossing a barrel of water at the foes. Both witches were doused out, and I ran at them, clawing them both as I ran by. Now they were doubly dizzy, and the snapshot from Chip didn't help their cause either. I grabbed them both and flung them at two of the Nightmares. All four of the creatures went stumbling into a pile, and they were all defeated with a devastating finish by me.

I spun around on my heels, stretching my arm out and taking the remaining two monsters down with it. They then winced when I ran over and plowed my fists into them, then picked them up and tossed them into a fire- which was honestly unintentional; I was aiming for the wall.

"C'mon! You're making this way too easy!" I scoffed.

"Well, they do have back up…" Chip trailed, gesturing to another two Flame Masters slowing up. I groaned, launched another water barrel, then struck them while they were weak. One managed to regain its flame rather quickly and charged at me in a blaze. I was plowed away from its partner in crime, and said partner regained its power as well and hit me with it.

"Ow! Okay, from your point of view, I probably deserved that!" I grumbled, picking myself up off the ground and luring them closer to another barrel of water. When they got close enough, I ducked under their attack and rolled it at them. Chip jumped in the air and threw up his hands.

"Yeah!"

"It was nice playing with you," I began, pounding them both to the ground. "But I think I'd like to go to bed tonight."

When they were defeated, I started to walk toward the way out, only to see that the barrier still didn't go down yet.

"Oh, come on…seriously?"

Disappointed, I glanced over my shoulder. A red Titan came to play with two Dark Bat Snipers at backup. The Snipers were no problem- I took them out almost as fast as they had arrived.

_If only I could do the same with the Titan._

I literally dove out of the way of a club smash, then attempted to retaliate by aiming a punch at its back. It must've sensed me getting ready to strike, because it grabbed my wrist while it was half way there, spun me over its head like I was rag doll, then acquainted my face with a rock-hard wall.

"Isn't he quite the playground bully…" I muttered under my breath while Chip was doing his usual routine checks. I turned around instantly and bolted at the red Titan, hoping to knock it over like I had done in one of my many previous battles.

_The Titan didn't even budge_.

"…that's just beautifu-UUUUUUU!"

Chip ducked as I soared over his head and hooked up with the blasted wall once again.

_I think I'm starting to know how all those monsters feel now._

"Dow…"

"Dow?" Chip asked, staring at me as I slowly slid down the side of the wall. I pulled my face away and rubbed my forehead.

"Grr…"

I was wondering if I had even made a dent in the Titan's health, and by the massive headache I suddenly had, I was going to guess that the answer was no. As it approached with its thunderous footsteps, I noticed the flames spouting up from random spots in the ground, and I suddenly had an idea.

"If you want to pound me so bad, then come and get me!" I called, slowly inching toward the flames. The Titan apparently understood me, because he changed direction and started stomping over. I crouched slightly, ready to spring when necessary.

"I have to time this perfectly…"

It took awhile, but the Titan finally got close enough to hit me. Chip frantically shouted for me to either move or bite his arm, but I stayed put. It raised its mallet up over its head, and Chip started shouting even louder. The brute brought the club down and I thought Chip was going to go deaf.

"Nrrgh!"

In a split-second, I flipped backward, performing a bicycle kick that I was usually very adept at doing. The only flaw with me doing it now was that I didn't know how effective it would be, since this was the first real time I tried as a beast.

Chip shrieked and look away, as I noticed out of the corner of my eye, But everything went just as I planned- my foot made contact with the wrist of the Titan, and also effectively managed to kicked it up off the ground with my other foot. It growled at me in the brief moment it was right above me, before I flipped it right into the flames.

"I can't believe I pull it off!" I squeaked, looking back and watching the Titan roast like a chestnut. It screamed for several moments, until nearly all of its health was gone. Eventually it saw that death was on the horizon and tried to escape at the last moment.

"Oh no you don't!" I shouted, running at it with a water barrel in my hands. I tossed it at the Titan, knocking it down to the ground with it and putting out the flames.

_Which left me open to attack it at will._

"YAH!"

The final strikes were brilliantly executed; the beast was finally felled. I felt myself panting as Chip floated over to me, seeming to be exhausted just from watching.

"honestly Sonic…how can you keep topping yourself with all these moves you pull out of nowhere!" he gaped.

"They just come to me, I guess…but trust me, that's not the most impressive thing I've ever done."

"Well…" Chip continued, returning to rest on my head. "The way forward is clear at last…"

"Now that is some great news…" I sighed in relief, carrying Chip over to the rest of the path. I trekked over a small hill of sand, which lead up to the Goal Ring at the end. Chip and I simultaneous heaved a sigh of exhausting, me picking up a tablet adorned with a blue jewel before heading back to the village.

. . .

"Well that was certainly an adventure…" Chip said sleepily, still lying on my head. "Let's go tell the professor and Tails about it! They won't believe it!"

"I'm pretty sure they will," I chuckled with a yawn.

Maybe if I was lucky, Amy would have woken up, but I didn't count on it considering that it was_ really_ late now. When we entered the lab again, we found Pickle and Tails sitting at the table once again, but Tails looked like he was getting ready to hit the hay as well. Both of them perked up upon my return, as always.

"Ah, Sonic! Thank goodness you made it back!" Pickle rejoiced, rising from his chair and walking over to me. "How are you feeling?"

Chip answered for me. "He's absolutely exhausted! Poor guy…"

Pickle was thoughtful as he looked me over. "Hmm, maybe running around is starting to take its toll. You look a little under the weather…"

"That's what I said!" Chip cried.

"Your journey is still far from complete as well, I'm afraid. You must be sure to rest now and then!"

"I'm fine," I assured, slightly taking a step forward as if it would help me prove my point. Pickle continued to smile at me and gestured toward the table.

"What say you to a nice, relaxing meal?"

_I was _starving_, and I hadn't even realized it until he mentioned it._

"Meal…" Chip moaned, eyeing the food on the table. I could heard his stomach suddenly growl by my ear.

"Won't you pull up a chair and join Tails and I?"

"I think Sonic has some news for us, Professor," Tails stated, not leaving the table, but still looking at me with a warm smile.

"Oh, does he, now? My apologizes."

"Well…" I trailed, pulling out the two halves of Shamar's Plant Tablet. "Chip and I located these-"

"You found the tablet fragments! That's welcome news indeed!" Pickle exclaimed. "Now you must bring them to the guardian of the temple you'll find somewhere! I'm afraid our meal will have to wait…"

I sighed and hung my head. "Okay…"

I heard Chip whimper slightly, staring at the table with longing eyes, plus I could tell he was tired, if not more tired than me. I thought it over for a while, before glancing up until Chip was slightly in the line of sight.

"Hey Chip?"

"yeah…" he winced lightly.

"You can stay here if you'd like while I go restore Shamar once and for all…"

Chip flew off my head in a flash and gaped at me. "Are you crazy Sonic? ! I'm with you 'til the end! I mean, what if there's a giant monster that you have to fight and something happens and I'm not there-"

"Must I remind you? I promised nothing will go wrong!" I then glanced at the table and smirked. "besides, I doubt you can last much longer without a decent snack."

Chip gazed at the table again, then shook off his trance and turned back to me. "I…I dunno Sonic, I've been with you through every adventure and I-"

"Please, Chip? I…want you to stay here. Not because I don't want you around or any thing, but I just want you to stay safe."

"But then who'll be with you to see if you're safe?" Chip asked innocently.

"It's not like I've never been alone before, and look where I am now!"

_Looking past the whole "transformed into a beast" factor, of course._

"It's true, I'm sure Sonic can handle himself…" Tails said in my defense. "…but still, it's not like there's anything wrong with doing this tomorrow night-"

"that's what I said too!" Chip threw in.

"But I'd rather get it done now and get it out of the way!" I protested. Chip and Tails starred at me as I slightly turned away.

"And…I think tomorrow might be a really good day. I dunno why I think that, but I'll do everything in my power to make it happen. And would you wanna end a day by fighting some sort of brute?"

Chip and Tails shook their heads. "Well, no, but-"

"I've been through enough already this night alone," I shrugged, turning back to them. "What's another little nighttime trouble gonna do to me?"

"Make you go crazy with insomnia," stated Tails.

"Make you nocturnal," replied Chip.

"Potentially send you into the state of hyper activeness you experience with lack of sleep," the Professor pointed out.

_They were certainly encouraging._

"Well, I still want Chip to- oh wait, never mind…"

Chip tilted his head. "Never mind what?"

"You'll have to come with me," I explained. "Your necklace is the only thing that can open the doors in the shrine, and I have a feeling it'll be the Star Door I'll be heading through…"

Chip looked increasingly hesitant, and I glanced back at him.

"I'd still prefer you to stay here. A decent meal and rest is what you need, and if I have to work just a little bit harder to get the world back together, then I'll do it. But I don't know if I can if I'm hurting you as well, even if its something as simple as suffering from tiredness or hunger…"

Chip glanced down at the floor for the longest time, then slowly reached up and gripped the band that kept his jade strapped around his neck. He pulled it over his head and held it out to me.

"This is what you really need, not necessarily me…" he said, smiling slightly. "If you really want me to stay here, then I will. I want to do my part to help too, and if it'll get you to do your best, then okay."

It was my turn to gape at Chip. "You're letting me hang onto your jade?"

Chip nodded. "I trust you, Sonic. I know you won't let anything happen to it. When you come back, you can just give it back to me and we'll carry on tomorrow."

I continue to gape, slowly accepting what was probably Chip's most prized possession and slipping it around my wrist for safe keeping.

_It took a bit of doing, considering my wrist was five times as fluffy than it usually was._

"…Thanks Chip…"

"No problem Sonic! Now…" Chip zoomed over to the table and instantly stuffed a cucumber sandwich into mouth. "Time to dig in!"

Tails giggled slightly as he turned a page in the new book he was looking over. "Well, I was getting ready for bed myself, but what's another half hour?" he turned to Chip. "Can you tell me a bit about what you've seen in Shamar, if you'd like to?"

Chip nodded, mouth still full of sandwich. He muffled, "Okay!" and Tails grinned.

I smiled as well, gradually making my way to the door. "Well…see you guys later, then!"

"Bye, Sonic!" "Good luck Sonic!" "Do be careful, Sonic!"

I gave them all a thumbs up and headed on out.

_It was easy to assure other people, but not as easy to assure myself._

. . .

I ventured out into Shamar, instantly making my way to Ehsan. He might've been old and sneezy, but he seemed like guardian material after all my previous experiences. When I approached him, he seemed overjoyed to see me.

_After all, I was apparently like a grandkid to him._

"Very impressive indeed!" he exclaimed after I explained the situation to him. "So, you've gathered all the tablet fragments, have you? Of course, you'll need a Plant Tablet to get any deeper into the temple…Well, leave that to me! You may be surprised to know that I am a Temple Guardian!"

_…no, not really._

"Let's see…I'll just take these tablet fragments and- ACHOO! There we are! It's done!"

He handed me the completed Planet Tablet and sent me on my way, and I thanked him for his help. However, as I held the Planet Tablet in my hand, I couldn't help but notice that Chip's necklace started glowing once again.

. . .

I returned to the shrine, this time without Chip. We've been at it for so long, it was sort of odd not having his presence there. Nevertheless, I was still glad I didn't take Chip, because I had no idea what to expect for what I was about to be up against, and I didn't know what to expect from myself either…

"Okay…" I trailed, walking up to the now glowing Star Door. I stared at my wrist, wondering how I was going to get it to work. I held my hand out toward to the door, and wouldn't you know? It was like having a secret pass to an exclusive club! The door rumbled open like it would have for Chip, and I took a deep breath and strolled in.

. . .

I knew I had walked into a battle arena- not only did it look like one, but it felt like one. I was even slightly hesitant to enter, but there wasn't any other choice.

_Still sort of wish I hadn't._

A huge ball of electricity crackled above my head, and the very moment I went to look at it, it turned into a red ball of energy before a _thing_ came leaping down. I jumped back- as soon as it landed it nearly crushed me with a huge hammer!

"Oh jeez…" I huffed, not sure where to start with this guy. He was in the way of me restoring the continent of Shamar though, so down the Dark Guardian was going to go.

I barely had time to think- the Guardian swept its hammer around and caused a shockwave that gave me a jolt. I shook it off and got serious.

"Okay, there's no room for carelessness here."

When the Guardian stopped for a brief moment, that was my chance to attack. I drove in right down the middle, going crazy with my fist punches and actually doing a decent amount of damage. My barrage stop when he knocked me away with a single punch- with the metal covered hand that didn't possess his hammer.

"Oh joy. He has a hammer _and_ packs a punch!"

I swooped under another punch, then hurried to plan my next attack. I didn't think it over very much, however, because the Guardian aimed a fist at me and missed, leaving his back wide open.

"And I thought you were going to be tough," I snickered while delivering a punch. He proved me wrong by shaking me off his back, then whacking me away with his hammer in the same move. Before I could retaliate to that, he suddenly started to hover in the air, surrounding himself in purple, and teleporting to an area farther away from me. I turned to see what he was doing- at first, it looked like some sort of yoga move, but then I got a closer look.

"He's charging up power!" I yelped, not sure of what to do. I found out what he did, though. His little song and dance numbers had caused lightning to rain down from above, striking random spots on the ground that I certainly couldn't predict. I wove my way through the bolts, trying to get to the Guardian again, but he surrounding himself in a shield and punched me away.

"ACK!"

I flipped out of the way of the massive hammer he tried to smite me with, and it became very clear to me- beat this guy as fast as possible! That close shave with a hammering death left me frazzled, that was for sure. The guardian then snarled at me, and suddenly he was propelling himself forward with some sort of magic.

Metal arm held in front of him, he was aiming right for me.

"ARRRRrrrghhh…"

I don't know what took control of me at that moment, because my mind literally shut down when it tried to imagine the pain the Guardian was about to deal on me. At some point I had put my hands up to block, and it was also somewhat successful. We were both now skidding across the floor, with me doing my best to subconsciously keep him at bay.

Within another moment, my hand practically started to glow as I tightened my fist, risking letting go of the Guardian with one hand to smite him in the face.

_It worked._

I let out a deep sigh of gratitude as the Guardian went flying away from me, giving me a bit of time to breathe. He landed harshly on the ground, and I landed back on my feet- which struck me as odd, because I didn't even remember jumping into the air.

"Perhaps I had more power in my punch than I tho-"

A hammer swept my legs from under me, and my reaction was to roll away from being mashed to bits. I was so close to being crushed that a few pieces of fur had been claimed by my foe's hammer, taken right off of my arm.

Seeing that he had missed his original target, the Dark Guardian charged up his hammer with a frightening pink electrifying shock, and he slowly marched back toward me. He had reached me faster than I'd anticipated- I found myself leaping over his hammer swing and deadly punch a few mere seconds later. He was off guard again, so I seized that chance to dish out a few more attacks. He turned around, blocked most of them, then swatted me away again. I toppled in the air, skidding across the ground very painfully.

The pain went away quickly though, and I glanced down.

"Chip's necklace…" I whispered, pushing myself up off the ground.

_Just in time to see the glowing idiot come charging at me again._

"Not this time," I gritted through my teeth, grabbing the handle right before he laid a smack down on me. During the Guardian's confusion, I thought fast and started to swing the hammer and its owner around. If Chip were around, I would've blown his mind once again. The Guardian let out a pretty loud roar, indicating that he didn't have a clue as to what was happening until I let go of the hammer.

_When he landed, it wasn't very pretty either_.

Unlike me, the Guardian had been a lot quicker to jump to his feet, but the good news was that his health was two-thirds gone at this point, I could tell. Unfortunately, this meant he was able to charge at me because he feared defeat like any other Boss.

I was actually ready this time, and pushed against him with much more of a firmer stance. When I had him struggling, I reeled my hand back again and punched him in the face once more. He toppled backwards, and I panted in success.

"You're going to have to try a lot harder than that to take me down!" I roared, running at him again. He was still a bit discombobulated, so it allowed me a few decent hits. He eventually pulled himself together, however, and smacked me away with his mallet.

_This time, however, I didn't dodge._

The wind was crushed out of me rather than just knocked out, and for a few precious moments I couldn't breathe. When he finally removed the hammer, I was gasping for air, and if he was planning any sort of double attack, then I was just going to have to suck it up and bear it- nothing could've been worse than that hammer strike.

"Nrrrrgh…"

I lost control of my senses for what seemed like forever, and what happened in that relatively short amount of time was that the Guardian grabbed me by the neck, then putted me into the air with that blasted hammer. I wanted to scream, but I had no air in my lungs to make that possible. My vision went blurry from the intense pain vibrating through my body, and I was wondering why Chip's orb wasn't give me a small boost of healing, and through my blurry sight I noticed something twinkling toppling toward the ground.

_Oh no._

In an instant, it was as if nothing had happened- I wasn't fighting a dark monster, I could actually breathe, and my mind was only focusing on saving Chip's orb before it shattered against the ground and I'd never be able to forgive myself.

Reality then struck, and my mind processed that I was still in midair. Common sense kicked in next, and I sent my hand shooting toward the ground, hoping my swift stretchy arms would be able to bring the necklace back to safety. Nothing at that moment mattered more than that, and it sent a shiver up my spine.

"Please make it…"

I closed my eyes as soon as my hand brushed against cold metal and clutched instantly. Time seemed to speed up as I opened my eyes again- another second longer, and Chip's orb would've been nothing.

Once I pulled myself together, placing the necklace back safely on my wrist again, I faced the demon responsible for me nearly losing it. He was doing his yoga-stance again, surrounded by lighting striking down. We had an intense stare down for quite a long time, until he ceased his dance and charged at me. I grinned snarkily back, staying where I was.

"Heh heh heh…you're screwed, you know that, right?"

I then charged forward as well, the two of us running at each other, and a huge crash was destined. His metal armor on his arm scraped against my unprotected one, but I didn't care. I shoved against him with every bit of strength my Werehog body gave me, then when the moment was right, I revved up my fist and struck him for the final time.

"You know now to never mess with me again."

He landed on his feet, despite having run out of energy. The Dark Guardian threw his head back and let out a warrior cry, showing that he had been defeated in battle by a very worthy opponent- yours truly. I had to smirk as he fell to his knees and dropped his prized tool.

"I know little girls who are better with a hammer than you," I snickered. "Well, one anyway."

_And what more could I say? She was._

. . .

So, let's see. I had entered the temple of Gaia, used Chip's necklace to reveal the Chaos Emerald pedestal, restored the yellow Chaos Emerald, and restored Shamar as well. Not to mention ventured through two continent during the dark the of night. I thought it all turned out pretty swell, over all…

_Except that I was beat._

By the time I had trudged back to the lab, the lights were all out, and Pickle was starting to carry a book to bed. I had no clue of what time it was, but it seriously must have been late- so late, I wouldn't be surprised if it counted as morning.

"Professor?" I whispered quietly, stopping him before he turned to head to his room. Pickle turned to me and greeted me with a smile, though it was a tired one.

"I'm sorry Sonic, but you've seemed to return when I have nothing to share…and I was just off to bed, which you should be doing as well."

I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, I guess…it's been a long day."

"If you come back after daybreak tomorrow, I'm sure I'll have something to share with you. I expect that you have a lot to report tomorrow."

I nodded. "understood, Professor. I'll head to bed right after I give Chip back his necklace…"

"All right then. See you in the morning, Sonic."

I gave the Professor a two-fingered salute before making my way up the stairs. Chip's necklace was glow-in the-dark too, so I could see where I was going when I went down the hallway. Amy was definitely sleeping now, and I smiled a little bit when I passed by. Tails was in the next guest room, an arm dangling over the side of the bed still attached to a book. I hid a chuckle under my breath.

"Only Tails…" I sighed to myself.

I found where Chip was sleeping- on the windowsill at the end of the hall. A bit of a weird place to camp out at, but the view out the window was nice, so I wasn't surprised that he had chosen that spot. I quietly walked over, removing the bracelet off of my wrist and attempting to slip it over his head without disturbing him.

_I think I failed at doing that._

"You did it Sonic," Chip whispered, adjusting the necklace so it was back in its original position. He was only half awake. "You're a hero!"

"I just do what I have to do, Chip. Nothing more."

"I, on the other hand, still can't remember a thing…but it won't do any good to fret over it…"

I pressed my mouth into a thin line and patted Chip's head. "They'll come back. I know they will."

"I know they will too. I guess I just can't wait…" he turned over, now facing away from me. "Hey Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry you missed dinner. It was really good."

I broke out into a light laugh. "Well, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, at least. I'd better get some sleep myself now after the suffering I've had to deal with tonight…g'night, Chip."

"Night Sonic…"

He yawned, and he was out like a light again.

. . .

I walked outside, now lounging on the wind of the Tornado. The stars were certainly pretty that night, along with the large, round, bright full moon…it complimented the desert scene nightly. I kicked back, smiling to myself just by thinking about tomorrow.

"It'll be a great day," I whispered to myself, closing my eyes that were well-deserving of a rest. "I'm positive it will."

_After the long, perilous night that had drained me of most of my energy, after all the mindless fighting, after making it back in one piece at long last …_

_I finally fell asleep._

* * *

**_Meant to post this at least five days ago, but circumstances didn't permit that... Oh well, better late than never! ;)_**


	38. Daybreak of the Best Day Ever

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Sonic…? Oh, there you are!"

"Gah…?"

The sound of the voice stirred me out of my slumber, and when I opened my eyes, a bright blue sky greeted eagerly. I blinked a few times and sat up- I was back to normal, I was sitting on the Tornado, it was morning, and Amy was standing off to the side smiling at me.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to wake you, but it's almost midday and you still weren't awake and the Professor has to tell you something a little important and-"

"Easy there, Amy," I laughed, swinging around and dangling my legs over the side. "I'm glad you woke me up! Do you know how mad I'd be if I missed a day like this?"

"Probably very, since I'd guess you're dying for a run after last night," she glanced at the ground shyly. "Tails, Chip, and the professor told me all about what happened. I wish I could've talked to you last night, but I went to bed a little early since I wasn't feeling well…"

"Are you feeling better now?"

Amy looked back up at me and nodded vigorously. "Yeah!"

She then jumped up, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me off the Tornado.

"Now come on! We're just about to have brunch, if you'd like some! Chip told me you didn't have any dinner last night, so you must be hungry!"

"I am, I am," I chuckled, stumbling after her. "If you keep moving at this rate, you're going to be just as fast as me!"

She laughed and pulled me through the front door; Chip was eating a chocolate chip waffle, Tails waved at me to come over, and Pickle stood up to greet me once again.

"Mornin' Sonic!" called Tails and Chip, though Chip's was muffled due to the waffle.

"Sup guys! What's going on already today?"

I walked over to Tails, grabbed an apple that was resting on the table, bit into it, and turned to the professor to get the scoop. He shuffled a few papers around, then adjusted the collar of his shirt.

"Well, I've just now completed compiling my analysis of the latest data. According to my analysis, there's a Temple of Gaia in Adabat as well."

I perked up even more, if that was possible. "We're going to spend the day in Adabat? YES!"

Chip and I smacked a high five, then I stood around nearly shaking with excitement. Tails whistled.

"Wow, for going to bed so late you seem to be in a great mood!"

"Well, where's the fun in being in a grumpy mood?" I countered back, walking along the edge of the table and chowing down on any food I could get. "I bet Adabat is a lot cooler in the day than the night! But the stars _were_ pretty…"

"You say that about every place, Sonic," Amy pointed out. I grinned back.

"That's just because it's true!" I then stopped as a realization struck. "Wait…today we're going to get the red-jeweled tablet, and we already have the blue-jeweled one…"

"And then we'll put them together and restore Adabat!" Chip exclaimed.

"But…" I smirked and pounded my fist into my palm. "Let's just say we'll be having a little get together with Eggman quite soon."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did!" added the professor.

"Just makes my day even better!"

"Only Sonic would look forward to trashing a fat man in a robot," Amy giggled. I swigged a glass of juice in three loud gulps, then spun the cup on my finger.

"Today is going to rock!"

"Why are you so fired up about today, Sonic? Is it your birthday or something?" Chip asked.

"We'd know if it was," Tails and Amy responded automatically, giving me a look while I scratched the back of my head.

_It wasn't my fault I made a big deal out of my birthday!_

"Load that camera up with a fresh roll of film, Chip. Who knows what things we'll need to take a picture of!"

"Okay!" Chip zoomed up the stairs to fetch a new roll while Tails finished his breakfast and stood up as well.

"Well, gee, Sonic…you sure seem anxious to get going! Do you want to go now?"

"I'd like to go as soon as possible," I shrugged, placing the cup back down on the table. "I've already slept through enough hours of daylight, and I don't want to waste another minute!"

Pickle chuckled under his breath. "Well, well! It looks like a good night's sleep has proved worthwhile once again!"

A certain feeling came over me, and I felt it as soon as Amy had pulled me through the front door. I was like a little beacon of lights, and my brightness was contagious. Tails, Amy, Chip, and the professor…it was like they were all as happy as I was now!

_It was a nice feeling, by the way._

When Chip returned with a fresh load of film and some backup, I motioned to Tails who told the professor that we'd be back before it got too dark. He had calculated that if we had restored the sixth continent before the day was over, that meant there was only one more to restore, and I was slightly nervous when I realized that I didn't know what it was.

"We won't be able to miss it, Sonic," Tails assured. "It'll be the only piece of the planet that hasn't been put back into place!"

I waved it off as if I had known it all along. "Yeah, yeah, of course!"

"Ooh, I wonder what that continent will be like!" Chip exclaimed. "I mean, we've already been to two urban areas, a frozen wasteland, a oriental ruins area, the desert, and we're about to enter a tropical island area from what we've already seen. And there's Mazuri, which was pretty much a jungle…"

"What're you getting at?" Amy asked, slightly lost.

"I was just wondering what the seventh continent would be themed like…"

_"Industrial…_" I murmured under my breath. Tails apparently picked up my mutter and snapped his head at me.

"Did you say something, Sonic?"

"Eh, what? Aw, no," I slowly started inching to the door. "Well, anyway, if we do restore the next continent before the day is done…"

I turned to Chip and slipped him a secret smile.

"…that means we'll have a bit of free time before we head off to the seventh continent."

Chip caught on instantly, and he was suddenly as cheerful and eager as I was.

"Well what are WE waiting for? Let's head out already! C'mon! Let's go!"

"Okay, I'm coming…" Tails laughed, following Chip and I to the door. "See you later, Professor! Bye Amy!"

I then stopped in my tracks, spun around, and rushed up to Amy so fast, I made her quills blow in the small breeze I created.

"I just remembered!" I breathed, taking a small step back away from Amy.

"Yes Sonic?" Amy asked, clasping her hands and staring at me with wide eyes.

_I still wasn't totally sure of what I was going to do, let alone what I was going to say._

"I'm…glad you woke me up this morning," I managed to stammer out, that not being exactly what I wanted to say and that not being what Amy was expecting to hear. But she didn't seem upset at all.

"You're welcome, Sonic! I'd gladly do it again if needed!"

"I wish you could come to Adabat with us," I continued, now folding my arms and slouching slightly. "I mean it; you'll probably be missing out…"

"I have to do what I can to help here, though, and there's not enough room on the Tornado anyway…" Amy shrugged. I was about to respond when she suddenly smiled. "Maybe when you return, you can tell me all about it and show me a few pictures!"

Another brilliant idea popped into my head, and I nearly jumped for joy, as cliché as it sounded. I topped Amy's smile with a broad grin of my own. "I think I might be able to do ya one better Amy! You'll see- later, but you'll see! Now, if I want my day to turn out like I predict it will, I've gotta get going!"

"Okay! Have fun Sonic! And uh…" she glanced at the ground shyly. "…Can I hug you goodbye?"

_I think I've just died from disbelief._

I gawked at Amy, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to close my mouth again. "You're actually asking for permission rather than just plowing into me regardless of what I might say?"

"Well, last night I was thinking over a few things…" she was rocking on her heels now. "…and I figured that whenever I get to see you, I should make it as pleasant as possible for you. So I decided to ask this time!"

I turned away and winced inwardly. After realizing that Tails, Chip and the professor were staring at me with urging eyes, I whirled back around to face Amy and tilted my head.

"I…guess, but only because you asked," I shook off my reluctant feeling, then winked. "But don't ask again! It'll be really weird if every time you're chasing me down and we suddenly stop and you're like, "Hey Sonic! Can I hug you?" every minute of the day! Just try and glomp me like usual and I'll dive out of the way and dodge!"

"If that came from anyone else I'd be offended," she laughed, and Amy threw her arms around my neck. After a few mere seconds I tried to wiggle free.

"Okay Amy! Release! I wanna go run _today_, you know!"

"Sorry." She let go. "Have fun today!"

"Trust me, I will."

I gave her and Professor Pickle a two-fingered salute before bolting out the door and flipping onto the wing of the Tornado in one swift move. They waved at Tails, Chip, and I through the doorway. Tails got positioned in the cockpit, Chip snuggled in the back seat, and I was ready for the wind to blow through my quills as I stood on the wing.

_I almost couldn't wait for the sweet purr of the Tornado's propeller to start and for the little biplane to take me to the next adventure._

. . .

"How close are we?" I asked for the seventh time, lounging on the wing just like I had before I fell asleep last night. Tails pushed a few buttons on his Miles Electric and shrugged.

"We're nearly there; just be patient, Sonic."

"That's like telling me to sit still."

Tails smiled. "I know! But what else can I say?"

"That we'll be landing in a few moments?"

"I did say we're almost there…"

Chip just patted his belly. "Uum, I'm looking forward to hunting down those coconuts Tails talked about! Not really sure what it is, but it sounds yummy!"

I opened an eye. "If we get lucky, that'll be one of the first things we do after the continent's restored! I'm so looking forward to running crazily around Adabat and giving Eggman a quick hello!"

"Makes you think about what robot creation he'll have up his sleeve this time…" pondered Chip.

_Probably a combination of an animal and an egg, like usual._

"Doesn't matter what he builds- it's all scrap to me!" I laughed. "On a different note, I sure hope Adabat's amazing during the day…I have a feeling it is, but I've got to see for myself!"

"Do you think it'll beat Apotos?" Tails asked.

Now both eyes were open and staring at Tails.

"Erm…we'll see. How close are we?"

"We'll be landing in a few moments!"

"Are you being serious or are you mocking what I said earlier?"

"Both," Tails replied cheekily, pointing down below the almost nonexistent clouds in the sky. Just by taking a look at the tropical continent from a bird's eye view, I knew I was in for something good. Chip poked his head over the edge as well and shared in my excitement.

"I can't wait! I can't wait!"

"Neither can I, but I'm holding together," I chuckled. I then glanced up as Tails as started to descend the plane. "Yo Tails?"

"What's up?"

"You feel like coming out with Chip and I on this fine day?"

The plane nearly lunched with Tails' surprise, and he glanced over his shoulder to stare at me.

"I'd love to Sonic-"

"But," I interrupted before he could finish.

_People always say "I'd love to" right before they turn you down. Well, most the time._

Tails retuned to focusing on flying as he rubbed the back of his head. "I promised the Professor that I would get some info for him from some of Adabat's inhabitants and I-"

"You _and_ Amy!" I groaned. "You're both distracted by some form of work today while I'm going out to practically play! At this rate you'll make me feel guilty for having fun!"

"Well, it's not just that, Sonic…" Tails continued, slightly trailing off. "I…for some reason, I think this is definitely one outing that you and Chip need to do together- just you two."

Chip blinked before turning to me and exchanging a glance. I whistled, turning back to Tails.

"you really think that?"

Tails nodded. "It's a weird feeling, and as much as I really want to join, it just feels right that I stay out of this time. Besides!" It was his turn to wink at me now. "There'll be plenty of other times we can hang out."

I nodded, accepting his decision and giving him a thumbs up. "All right then, Tails, I respect your choice. I'll enjoy myself for you and Amy today then!"

"Good to know!" Tails laughed, and the Tornado suddenly started to corkscrew downwards, Chip screaming, Tails cheering, and me throwing my hands up in the air. When we were right above the ground, Tails pulled up on the Tornado, and we landed stylishly.

"Ten for the landing, Tails!" I exclaimed, hoping off the wing. Tails looked proud of himself as he climbed down as well.

"I strive to achieve!"

"Okay Sonic! Let's go find whoever has the Sun Tablet to get us through Adabat's Temple's Sun Door!" Chip cried. I gave him a nod, then started to run off until I turned back around and stopped right in front of Tails.

"Oh yeah, by the way…" I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. "When you start questioning the locals, be sure to talk to the girl, Rudi, first. Tell her I sent you, all right?"

Tails nodded. "All right, thanks Sonic!"

"No problem! And one last thing…" I put a hand on his shoulder. "Please, if you're going to stay behind, don't wear yourself out with work. Try to have even a little fun today, promise?"

"I promise Sonic!"

"That's my bro," I said with a smirk, turning away and running after Chip who was already raiding a nearby market. Tails watched with amusement as I struggled to yank Chip away, then headed off to take care of his own business.

. . .

"Sonic, you should've let me buy that pineapple."

"We're here on official business/looking for the best day ever, not a cuisine quest."

"But it looked so good-"

Chip's debate on why he should've gotten the pineapple was cut short when we approached Teanchai, Rudi's father. To our pleasure, he wasn't as depressed now, thanks to Dark Gaia not possessing him anymore.

"Oh, hello," he greeted us, even giving a bit of a wave. "I appreciate your recent assistance."

"Are you not depressed anymore?" Chip asked, despite the fact it was pretty clear.

"Yes, I'm well, thank you. Since the planet split apart, all sorts of strange things have happened…"

_We would certainly know._

"After loosing my house, I felt as if the darkness might just swallow me…But my family depends on me. I have a job to do and I can't let them down."

"Understood. Sorry about your house…" I trailed quietly. "I wish there was something I could do…"

Teanchai just assured me with, "I'll be fine in a few days. After all, I can just rebuild, right?"

I nodded, smiling slightly as Chip and I walked away. Apparently he didn't have the Sun Tablet…if Rudi had the Moon Tablet, maybe Jamal had the Sun one?"

**At Jamal-**

"Hey! Have you lost weight?"

_Best topic starting sentence ever._

He told us he had no idea what we were talking about when we mentioned the Gaia Gate, so he sent us back to his dad once again. Muttering something about backtracking, Chip and I trudged all the way back to Teanchai.

"I shouldn't be moping about when the kids are all cheerful," he said as soon as we returned. Chip and I stared at each other with confusion.

"That's great, bu-"

"Rudi has what you are looking for," he replied, smiling as if he had read my mind.

"Rudi had both the Tablets?" Chip gawked. "Wow!"

"I think she just surpassed Layla," I remarked, heading on over to where we found Rudi on our last visit. She was still there, still holding that basket over her head. Upon our return, she broke out into a grin.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd be by. I believe you're looking for this," she pulled out the Tablet and held it up. "The tablet with a sunlit beach symbolizes the tranquility of Adabat. Please, Sonic, restore the world to a state of tranquility."

She gave me the Sun Tablet, and I gave her my promise. "I'll save the world, don't worry. It's not like I haven't done it before!"

Rudi smiled. "We're all counting on you, Sonic."

I was getting ready to respond when Chip suddenly announced his latest idea.

"We should totally see a sunset later!" Chip exclaimed. "That'd be a perfect ending to the day!"

"Hey!" I cried, surprised with his proposal. "That's actually not a bad idea! Then after it's over, we head back to Shamar, rest up for the night, then head on to the seventh continent! I like that!"

"The sunsets here are some of the best in the world, you know," Rudi pointed out. I stretched my arms over my head and smirked.

"Well, I guess that'll make it even better then!"

I saluted her goodbye, then motioned to Chip, and we took off through Adabat to reach the Gaia Gate.

. . .

Returning to the ancient structure with the doors, I was pleased to see that the Sun Door was glowing this time around. We both ran for it in a blur, me breaking to a stop while Chip flew up to the door and opened it, just like always.

"You ready for this?" I asked, limbering up and doing some stretches. Chip gave me a thumbs up.

"As ready as I'd ever be!"

"Then here we go!"

We rushed into the doorway, ready to take on what was up ahead.

. . .

"Dude, it's like entering a party!"

The palm trees were decorated with streamers, festive flags towered over the pier, and the atmosphere was just so uplifting! I was already running down the boardwalk before Chip could even take it all in. He managed to savor a few small moments already by snapping away wildly with his camera.

"This would go great on a post card," Chip said with a smile, staring at the latest photo.

I ran over a Boost Pad positioned on a thin strip of land, the land being somewhat of a bridge through Adabat's crystal clear waters. The view of the beach then disappeared quickly as I rushed onto an island, filled with a huge towering jungle.

I told Chip twice to take a photo of the beach. Talk about picture perfect!

"Wonder what's up ahead…" I mused to myself, tearing through a small cave. It led out onto the actual beach, but I wasn't able to enjoy the sights thanks to spontaneously appearing bombs that blew up in my face. I tripped upon impact.

"I just had to ask."

Dusting the sand off my torso, I bolted off again, hopefully without any further interruptions. Adabat was probably my last chance at some decent daytime running, and I was NOT going to waste it!

I bolted off the beach and leapt over a cliff, landing on a cove that curved around the water. I drifted around it swiftly, only to run out and slam into a robot with a spring placed on its front. I found myself shooting into the air, but ironically, I was kind of glad the robot did that!

"The view's even better up here!" I exclaimed cheekily. My happy statement was followed up by a trashing of any nearby robots with my homing attack. Grinning, I continued to dash over the cliff, bounced off a spring on a wall, and bound over to another boardwalk. At the end of that was yet another spring, which ricocheted me into a cannon.

"A cannon? ! What the heck is that doing he-EEEEERE!"

"WA-HOO!"

Chip wailed in confusion while I just spun around through several rainbow loops. Once Chip and I touched down on land once again, we really were in the jungle.

"Quick! Get a shot of this!" I called, taking out four robots then swinging on a vine. Chip whipped out his camera and did as he was told right before I let go and maneuvered my way onto a grind rail. I broke out into a grin as I made my way through the jungle, over the trees, and past a break in a cliff. I jumped off the grind rail, latched onto a vine, and swung myself over to a branch. Unfortunately when I landed, I got plowed in the face by a missile from a robot.

"…I have no comment," I muttered to Chip, picking myself up and boosting into anything that got in my way. Eventually I found a pulley to grab that took me up to a grind rail perched in a tree. Wasting no time jumping on that, I shredded my way out of the jungle and to a Cliffside.

"Ooh! I got a nice picture of a waterfall!" Chip announced, showing me the snapshot. I nodded in approval.

"Excellent work, Chip!"

He beamed proudly while I jumped off a cliff, running over water for awhile until I just started surfing on it! Pretty sweet, if you ask me.

_Walking on water is one thing, but surfing on it all by your lonesome…kids, don't try that at home. Especially if you're a hydrphobe._

After my mini-surfing escapade, I reached more land and made my way over another cliff via pulley. Emerging out of the jungle, Chip and I were greeted by another beach and a boardwalk, and the bright sky and sunlight wasn't being filtered out by the endless trees. However, as soon as I stepped foot on the boardwalk, trouble arrived.

"Heh, I was wondering when I'd see you again!" I snickered, facing the green robot that enjoyed tracking me down from many times before. As a hello to me, he shot me with a wide laser that I had no room to avoid. I flipped over backwards and landed on my face nevertheless.

_Psh, fiends these days._

I stood back up, for what was the third time already in the tropical place, and picked up my running. The green robots launched missiles at me, which I managed to dodged a lot easier. Right as I was about to acquaint him with my foot, I hit a spring I had missed and found myself flying in the air, the robots continuing to fly forward.

"Hmph! What a coward! He could've at least kept following me so I could finish him off!"

Anyway, I was blasted through a series of loops and was flung across half the island before my descent into a rock wall was prevented by a very conveniently placed spring. If that spring hadn't been there, I'd be road kill.

_Or wallkill in this case._

I maneuvered myself to yet another boardwalk, smashing a robot then jumping up and spinning through another loop. I jetted around a corner, ran over falling pieces of the pier, and leapt carefully over teleporting bombs, which was simple. The hard part was avoiding living tikis trying to crush me, robots with a few trick up their sleeves, and me not running over the edge of the boardwalk similar to what happened in Chun-Nan.

And yet, when I found the Goal Ring tucked away in a cute little hut with rainbow drapes covering the entrance, I cried out in agony.

"WHY? ! Why must it be over already?" I moaned, slowing down to a jog as I made contact with the ring, Chip tried to cheer me up.

"W-Well…at least we saw a whole bunch of neat things!"

"Yeah, that lasted about three minutes!" I retorted, tossing the tablet adjourned with a red jewel in my hand. I turned back to Chip, a smirk evident on my face. "You can't possibly think we're finished here, do you?"

"Well, we already got the- and then we- plus the-"

"Once we go beat Eggman," I began, now spinning the tablet on my finger. "We've got a whole other section of Adabat to comb over! You think just one beach and just one jungle is all this place has to offer?"

"No…"

"Good," I started to run back to the village. "Because we are far from done here."

_Because, seriously, if that short little trip was all I was going to get a taste of in Adabat, then I would be devastated._

* * *

**Once you play the 360 version, you can't go back to Wii. _(_Or even touch it, if you never played it.) ^^**

**So, yeah, this was the Wii version's Adabat level. Next time, Sonic battles Eggman once again and the plot to the actual game's story finally thickens...**


	39. The Battle of the Best Day Ever

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Sonic, let's search Adabat for someone who can make a Planet Tablet! The most important person in the village must be the temple guardian, no?"

_Well at this rate it's like Rudi's the guardian rather than her father._

I was almost tempted to go back to Rudi as well, but I knew just as much as Chip did that Teanchai was the real guardian. We trekked back to Shallow Waters and found the leader of the tiny village still in decently good spirits.

"I see you've collected some tablet fragments. Going through the door?"

"Yup!" Chip answered instantly.

"I don't suppose I can stop you. Okay, let me have the fragments."

I handed them over, and just like the guardians of all the other continents, he managed to create the Sixth Continent's Planet Tablet.

"You are on your way."

_What? No insightful advice before we go? What kind of a guardian was he?_

. . .

Returning back to the shrine, Chip and I stood at the remaining door: the yellow glowing Star Door. I was rearing and ready to go, dancing around while punching my fists eagerly. Chip had to give me a look before opening the door.

"How are you so sure that Eggman is going to be around?" he asked.

"Well, if it's nighttime when we open the Star Door, it tends to be some sort of Dark Monster. But if it's daytime, then Eggman's usually out causing trouble. That's how I know!"

"Okay then…"

He floated in front of the door and spread out his arms, the magic in his orb coming to life and opening the door. Chip floated back to my side almost instantly, and we both headed into the new area.

. . .

Running through more ruins, I was on a mad hunt for Eggman while Chip stayed glued to my side. We were surrounded by towering cliffs, tons of trees, and a large blue sky…everything was peace…

_Maybe even too peaceful, since it usually is._

My heart nearly stopped when a large robotic beetle jumped out of nowhere, perching itself on a cliff. It leapt down to stand before me, spun around, and gave an intimidating snap of its pinchers.

"So, resorting back to old tactics?" I questioned, seeing that the new toy was remarkably similar to one I had fought previously. "How many times will it take to get you to realize that doesn't work?"

"This is the Egg Lancer, hedgehog," I heard Eggman's voice recite. "It may bear some resemblance to my Egg Beetle, but trust me, this one is practically guaranteed to take you out!"

"You say that every time."

I could see Eggman narrow his eyes at me from the cockpit. "Oh yeah? Well now I'm serious."

_Shame that I never take you seriously, then._

Eggman and the Egg Lancer suddenly jumped off the edge of the road, leaving me to spring down after them. At first the Egg Lancer made no moves to attack, so I took the opportunity to cartwheel around and collect any Rings that happened to come my way.

"Take this!"

"Aw, here we go…"

Fire spewed out of the Egg Lancer in a very pathetic attempt to hit me. None of them even came close, and if they did, I would've dodged them anyway. I snickered as the Egg Lancer vanished and I found myself running along the side of the cliff.

"So much for guaranteed to take me out! You're going to have to try a lot harder to take me down with plumes of fire!"

I suddenly heard metal clanking, so I looked down and discovered it was my own footsteps running along steel rather than rock. Also glancing down, I found out where the Egg Lancer had ran off to…plus I found several blue lasers beaming up to kill me.

"YAH!" Chip cried out for me as I tried to focus on slowing down do I wouldn't hit any. Eggman's chuckling echoed throughout the cliffs as I scurried around avoiding the lasers.

"How's that?"

Eggman vanished again, rendering me able to relax as I returned to running along the Cliffside. The Egg Lancer reappeared momentarily, slamming its large pinchers into the cliff. Before I could even question was the purpose of that was, Chip shouted for me to speed up. As I did so, I snuck a peek over my shoulder- falling rocks.

_Avalanche!_

"Idiot," I murmured under my breath, avoiding the boulders with ease while Eggman's mecha monster was struck by three. It's pinchers were forced open, and I saw my chance to attack. I bolted forward with a Sonic Boost, tearing right through boulders and straight into the Egg Lancer's weak spot.

Eggman let out a wail as I charged over several Boost Pads, going so fast I collapsed into ball form and rocketed after the doctor. I tumbled off the side of the cliff after losing momentum, landing back down on the main path…which was covered with lasers.

_Someone was certainly favoring the death beams today._

"To the left, Sonic! Jump! Duck! Dance! Swerve! Take it back now, y'all!"

I gave Chip a bewildered look as I performed said actions. By the time I had maneuvered my way through the surplus of lasers, I jumped up and homed in on the Egg Lancer's weak spot once again. The Egg Lancer recoiled into a large abyss, and I cringed. Still in midair, I landed on a wall, then bounded to one on the opposite side, ricocheted off that one, and bounced off several more walls until I reached Eggman. I took a bold chance and sprung off the latest wall, slamming into the weak spot perfectly.

"Woo!"

"This is the part where I start shouting angry and spiteful things at you…" Eggman grunted as he backed off for the moment. Meanwhile, I was slightly worried about where I was going to end up, falling down an abyss and all, but I fell through a hole that took me back to the main path once again.

_And landed on a laser._

"Take this!" Eggman cried once again, laughing as I picked myself up off the ground. Somehow, I managed to duck under a few fireballs while flipping over yet another laser. When the way was clear, I bolted forward and struck once again.

"Take that," I mocked, grinning when Eggman scowled at me. The Egg Lancer went toppling backward, but it still had plenty of fight left in it. I found myself running along the side of a cliff again, and another look revealed I was running on metal once again.

_Seriously, how in the world does THAT work, huh?_

More lasers were fired, all of them marching toward me in a straight line. I miraculously managed to squeeze inbetween two of them, but between the lasers boomeranging right back towards me and now another avalanche (this one featuring blocks of concrete), things got slightly more entertaining.

"Hey Doc!" I called, skidding away from a collapsing cube of cement. "Why don't you come up here and join the party?"

"Why should I? I'm perfectly capable of destroying you from down here!"

Another laser shot up, this one striking me and sending me tripping forward. I lost my momentum, meaning I wasn't able to continue running on the wall. At the last moment, I grabbed onto one of the metal bars before I completely fell and felt a shudder go up my spine when Eggman did return.

"Your defeat is mine!" he shouted, tossing mines at me.

_Even while hanging precariously on the edge of a cliff, I still had to time to criticize that pun._

I pulled myself up, carefully running along the very narrow footing until I gained my speed back. I jumped cautiously over the mines, then frowned when another freaking laser came whizzing over my head.

"Dude, cool it with the laser beams!" I cried, finally going fast enough to run along the wall again. "You could've taken off my ear!"

Apparently Eggman didn't hear my latest outburst, because he was gone. I ran safely down the cliff, only to find that Eggman had lit the path in several flames.

"What's wrong, Sonic? Finally feeling the heat?" Eggman snickered. I stared forward with a blank face.

"I'd hate to counter with an equally as cheesy pun, but you're the one who's going to burn up!"

_Hopefully in smoke._

I jumped swiftly around the fires, jetting forward once I made it out. The Egg Lancer made a sickening crack when I crashed into it, and it made me smile. Eggman was having an episode in his cockpit, and I could hear his little robot minion say something along the lines of "Proceeding to Combat Level Three."

_What were they on before, Level -1?_

Just as we had gotten off the side of a cliff, we were running along another one. I rolled my eyes and Quick Stepped away from the lasers.

"C'mon Eggman, I just talked to you about old tactics! Spice it up a bit!"

"How's this for spicy? !" Eggman roared, sending up a ring of lasers. I pretended to yawn as I worked my way past them.

"Nah, I've seen that one before. Got any more neat tricks, or do you only come with a laser light show?"

"Grrrrrr! Egg Lancer, finish him off!"

"More like me finishing off the Egg Lancer!"

Eggman and his metal monster returned to the scene, and just like before, he caused an avalanche that I wove through easily, plus he was crushed by rocks as well. Now with the pinchers open, I hit the Egg Lancer once again.

"I hate you so much!" Eggman shouted as we descended off the Cliffside. I just shrugged.

"Well, I can't be popular with everyone, I guess."

The Egg Lancer went flying back into a large trench, but this time, there were waterfalls pouring out the sides and water at the bottom of the long fall. Gulping slightly, I leapt up again and took position on another wall. The Egg Lancer fired more fire arrows and lasers at me, but with my quick timing I managed to avoid them all. I zigzagged back and forth among the cliffs, jumping off when Eggman was in range again.

"Don't you even dare think about it you blasted little-"

I spun into the weak spot once again, and Eggman exploded with rage. This time, the Egg Lancer flat out exploded into several pieces. I slightly frowned as I landed on a ledge, arms resting on my hips.

"What? Over already? Oh well…"

"Great job as always, Sonic!" Chip cheered, returning with a smile. I grinned back and gave him a thumbs up.

"Thanks, buddy!"

"And now that Eggman's out of the way, we can head to the temple and restore Adabat, right?"

I nodded, already heading off. "That is the plan, if I'm correct. Let's go!"

I was quick to head off, Chip eagerly flying behind me. What I didn't notice, however, was that he looked a bit nervous and was clutching his pearl awfully tightly…

. . .

When we reached the temple, I caught on to Chip's nervousness when he took one look at the structure and shuddered. Realizing that he stopped, I turned around and tilted my head curiously.

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"huh? Oh, right…I'm just…scared."

"Scared?" I asked, a bit surprised. I took a look at the temple, then gave a small shrug. "It's just another old temple. It doesn't look like there's anyone around, either."

"That's…that's not what I mean. That's not…" He glanced at the ground, then shook his head. "N-Never mind. I'm fine. Let's go!"

I stared at him as he started marching toward the temple, then took off into the air moments later. I stayed behind for a few moments, watching him unsurely before following after.

. . .

Inside was the same as ever- pedestal, pillars, platforms…

_Biggest different was the giant painting._

"Whoa."

Chip used the power of his necklace to raise the pedestal, then floated up to investigate the painting while I restored the continent. I gently put the purple Chaos Emerald in its slot, then waited somewhat patiently for the power to be restored to it.

Chip, meanwhile, had tapped the mural and it started to glow.

"Yikes!"

He backed away from it, trying to air-swim away, but the mural sucked him right back in, and he was gone before I had the chance to turn around, jump up, and grab him.

_Can you imagine being sucked into some sort of picture? Since when does that happen?  
__  
..._

Chip was still trying to escape from whatever he had been sucked into when a voice rang out to him- a voice that sounded oddly similar to his own.

_"I welcome your return."_

Chip turned around, only to be face to face with a giant orb of light.

_"Messenger of day, of light, of rebirth…"_

A bit of the light flew toward Chip, and absorbed in his necklace. Chip closed his eyes for a few moments, and once he opened them back up, he came to a sudden realization…

...

He returned through the portal he was sucked into, and silently flew over to me. Clueless, I just stared at him, my eyes asking what I wanted to say.

What the heck had happened in there?

"Sonic…" Chip spoke slowly and lowly, gradually turning his gaze up to me. "I remember now. All of it."

* * *

**I love this boss fight. I really do. XD**

**Anyway, it looks like there's some sort of cliffhanger! You don't have to worry this week, but if I go longer than two weeks without updating this again, someone needs to virtually kick me. And I'm partially serious. :P**


	40. What was Almost the Best Day Ever

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"So…you got your memories back!" I exclaimed for the fifth time, still making our way back to the main part of Adabat. "Aren't you going to tell me who you are, where you came from, what you're going to do next?"

Chip looked hesitant and slightly turned away. "…no…"

"No? What do you mean-"

"I…I don't think I can bring myself to explain right now," Chip stated softly. "I'll share eventually, but…not right now…it's a bit overwhelming…"

"Oh…" I trailed, looking at the ground awkwardly. "…I understand…"

_For a guy who just got his memories back, he looked awfully sad…_

We stayed silent for a few more moments, until I glanced up at the sky and smiled slightly. I gave Chip a small nudge and spread out my arms.

"Hey, c'mon Chip! The day is still young, and there's still a ton of things to do, right?"

Chip turned to me, acknowledging me but still saying nothing. Irritated minutely by his silence, I picked him up and started to head off.

"Hey. You got your memories back- this calls for_ some_ sort of celebration! And what better place to do that than such a beautiful area like Adabat? …except Apotos."

Chip just made a whimpering noise. Pursing my lips in a thin line I placed Chip on my back and dashed away.

"I'll even let you eat a pineapple! And maybe we'll find some of those coconuts Tails told us about! How's that sound?"

Chip finally saw how hard I was trying to cheer him up and at last allowed his smile to return.

"Okay Sonic. I think a little bit of fun is what I need right now…"

"A little bit?" I chuckled, flying off deep into Adabat once again. "I'll do you one better- let's have a lot of fun! And be sure to have your camera ready- I don't want to miss a picture perfect shot."

"'Kay then!" Chip replied, pulling out said camera and preparing himself. "I hope you're right, Sonic…"

"Right about what? Us having fun? That's a guarantee!"

. . .

"Here we…GO!"

Chip let out a small cheer, but it wasn't as vibrant as what I had been hoping. Musing to myself, I knew I'd get him to cheer up in no time.

_Though it would be easier if he would just tell me now…but I didn't want to force him either._

I ran down another boardwalk, and at this time of day, the waters looked even more sparkling and clearer than before! Water even spurted up in light geysers, giving Chip and I a surprisingly refreshing spray. I Quick Stepped to and fro, changing the pier I was running on constantly. A few times I'd even jump up and spiral through a loop, which Chip usually loved.

Glancing over my shoulder, Chip still seemed glum. I made a face.

"I'd better find a pineapple soon."

At the end of the boardwalk, I ricocheted off of a spring, and we landed on the roof of a hut. I ran into a cannon right after that, which shot me upwards onto a grind rail.

"Feeling good!"

I rode that, jumped off, rushed over another roof, then spiraled through another set of loops before landing on yet another grind rail. We had just started and I was already in better spirits! I raced over another hut and threw up my hand as I leapt to another grind rail.

"Man, how'd I miss this area before? The first place was pretty, but the second time through is way better- already!"

I eventually returned back to the boardwalk, running a loop in the path as I admired the village. Glancing over a ways, I noticed a pretty scenic view not too far off with a boat and a cliff and told Chip to take a picture of it. As I jumped into the air to go through a loop, Chip lifted his camera and took a perfect pic. The edges of his mouth curved up slightly, but his broad grin still wasn't back yet.

I ran off the boardwalk and away from the beach, tearing back into the jungle. I swerved through the greenery, bounding over ledges and crashing into robots. While blasting over a few platforms, I looked down- we were suddenly really high up! I couldn't even see the bottom of the cliffs!

"Eh…I think I'll keep my eyes straight forward…"

I bounced off a dozen springs until I reached even higher ground, touching down on a Boost Pad and finding myself flying over a small stone bridge. I ran nonstop, only to be halted by running over a ramp, staying in midair for a brief moment, then doing a few tricks before landing on the other side.

I heard a small click, and realized Chip had taken another picture.

"Let me see!" I said, running through even more jungle. Chip was still silent as he showed me, but I had to admit, he definitely had some skills with snapshots. As I admired his work, Chip suddenly heard whirling blades and looked up- we were being tailed by robots!

_Again._

"Look out, Sonic!" he exclaimed, pointing to the oncoming "threats". I just grinned as the trio of androids flew in front of me, just asking for a beat down. The thick jungle surrounding us made sort of a dramatic atmosphere as I slammed into anything in the path, causing it to fly up and hit the robots. As I kept up this refrain, sunlight started peeking through the thick leaves of the jungle, and I had a feeling we were reaching the edge of this jungle soon.

My prediction was right, because the trees suddenly ended and the sunshine was raining down on Chip and I. Beyond the jungle was water, forcing me to change into "super cautious and paranoid mode".

_I like running on water, but water is still number one on my hate list._

I was extra careful not to panic, but for once, I wasn't full of fear. In short, the water was just too beautiful to be afraid of, I supposed. Chip took three more pictures that I stopped myself from looking at- I wanted to be surprised!

Several ruins of fallen structures emerged out of the top of the water, which were cool and threatening at the same time. Hey, it took a lot of work to run around one…while I was on the water. I briefly ran over a sandbar and a pier before running on the water once again, a few geysers rising up from both sides of me. Chip found another picture perfect opportunity and took a photo.

"Sweet!"

I hadn't seen the picture for myself, but it was a small sign that Chip was feeling a bit better.

Ruined towers collapsed like crazy, and I had to jump over them quite a few times. Since I was on water, it scared me crazy! Chip wouldn't never guessed, however, because I managed to keep a composed expression the entire time- thank goodness. To my relief, I reached another beach, then just as quickly scaled up the side of a cliff and took off into another jungle. While I was too immersed by all the trees, Chip heard another odd noise, glanced over his shoulder, and winced.

"Your old friend is back…"

Now I turned around and saw that darned green robot back for more! I turned around all the way, now running backward. Chip's eyes widened in amazement. Grinning, I returned my attention back to the green robot. "You certainly have a knack for following me around, eh? Eggman must keep rebuilding you, considering all the times I've made you blow up."

He fired a laser, and as I dodged it, I noticed that there were bombs on the ground. I grimaced and sweatdropped.

"Oh, joy…"

As if on cue, I tripped over one and stumbled over an unexpected drop in the path. It took me awhile to regain my balance, but once I did, I used it to flip out of the way of another laser.

"What is it with lasers, anyway?" questioned Chip. "I mean, can't anyone think up a new sort of weapon of projectile?"

"I wonder the same thing…" I muttered, leaping over a bomb while making sure my quills wouldn't get blasted off.

Finally, I managed to outrun the robot, and I was free to continue my jungle joyride without any further distractions…at least, for the moment. The jungle part didn't last for much longer, for I hit a beach once again and hopped onto a grind rail. To my dismay, the grind rail ended quickly and I was back to running on water.

"Um, uh, Sonic…?" Chip asked meekly.

"Yup?"

"…can you go faster?"

I looked thoughtful.

"Well, originally I'd have to consider it, but since it's a special day, why not?"

Chip cheered, and I just about caused a tsunami with the way I blasted off. The roar of the waves filled my eardrums as I plodded on. I looked over my shoulder and smiled broadly- at last, Chip was enjoying himself again! The water run was over when I jumped onto a path, one that rose up, twisted around some ruins, and cut off once it dipped back down. Chip and I were flung into the air, Chip gripping my shoulders as I landed on a Boost Pad and went flying over the water once again.

"More jungle on the way, Sonic!" Chip called.

"As awesome as this place is, it needs to make up its mind on which environment it prefers!"

I ran through the beach and back into the jungle, ping-ponging off the cliff sides until I reached a lower area. Making sure Chip was holding tight, I went a lot faster, and we both broke out in cheers. I rocketed up the side of another cliff, thanks to the combination of springs and rings.

"Whoa…now what do we have here?"

"A Million dollar picture!"

As Chip took a photo, I gawked at the misty waterfall I was about to traverse. It was like a combination of the water parts of Adabat and the jungle parts.

_And it was awesome._

"That's definitely a keeper," Chip mused to himself as I jumped across the rocks that were protruding out of the water.

"This is a pretty long waterfall…" I noted while spinning through several loops and following up with a Light Ring Dash. I landed on a grind rail, Chip and I both throwing up our hands and screaming happily as we spiraled downwards then shot right back up again. The grind rail brought us to some more ruins, but these looked a lot more intact than the one submerged in the water.

"We should send some photos of this place to National Geographic."

"Sonic, how come you want me to take so many pictures?"

I shrugged, running over a Boost Pad. "The more photos we have, the more vivid the memory. You can return somewhere every single moment of your life, but each time is unique, and never like another."

"Sonic, how come you're occasionally insightful?"

"I have no idea, Chip."

I left Chip to ponder while I charged into robots and bounded through a rainbow loop. While in midair, I threw myself at a pillar, then pushed myself off it and landed on another one. This continued until I landed on a ledge…which was booby trapped and aimed to crush me.

_Wonderful!_

I held onto Chip slightly as I vanished into a blue blur, making it out of the trap in the nick of time. I jumped through three rainbow loops then alighted onto a topsy turvy path that winded its way through the large ruined structure. The long road kept going straight after that, but I didn't mind. I spread out my arms and enjoyed the light breeze that brushed against my face. I was running, I was with a great friend, and the area around me was breathtaking…

_What more could a guy ask for?_

Eventually the road led into some sort of ancient civilization, which I found fairly interesting. Chip was on fire with that camera as I started to climb up the side. Once I reached the top, I was propelled even higher by red loops, then I trashed a trip of flying robots in my path. At the end of the robot chain was a grind rail, and Chip and I had to contain our excited squeals.

"WOO!" "ALL RIGHT!"

_We settled for exuberant shouts instead._

The rail swooped downward, curved around going slightly upwards, did a steep drop, then finished off by forcing me to collide with a spring. It was one spring after another from that point on- Chip quickly discovered we were climbing up the side of the waterfall, and I was ready to take that challenge!

"_Spring_ after spring to the ruins after ruins…"

"At least there's another grind rail-"

"Where? ! WHERE? !"

Chip nudged me in the right direction, and I performed an action chain on several robots, leading up to a high pillar with the only way off being the grind rail. It did a large loop, then tossed me into the air and caused me to land on the other side of Adabat. I stumbled a bit with my landing, and apparently the way I did it must've looked funny, because Chip burst out laughing.

"Ha ha, funny," I commented, Chip flying off my back in a fit of giggles. "You know, I bet I could find some sort of pottery around here…then _I'd_ be the one laughing."

"Ah ha ha ha…I'll stop." Chip trailed off, then gave a small cough. "So, um, er, anyway…whadda we do now?"

"Well," I began, walking way too casually for Chip's liking. "It looks like we've still got some more free time, don't we?"

"Yeah, but what are we going to-"

I held out a rather large blue book, grinning widely, and Chip slowly caught on. In a fit of excitement, he spun around in the air happily and slapped me a high five. I laughed, then taking off to go find a good spot to settle.

. . .

"Okay, this one should go…here!"

"Then this one will go by this picture of the building and the waterfall."

"Ooh! Here's another one of us!"

"That goes in the back."

We were currently in the south part of Adabat, where Tails had said the best coconuts grew. Sampling a few was definitely on the list, but Chip was too distracted by putting together the scrapbook to think about the potential delicacy at the moment. I was lying under the tree on my stomach, in control of the book and the pages. Chip, who had all the pictures, would take them out and group them all together. Then both of us decided where they should go.

"Making a scrapbook is fun!" Chip laughed, looking at a picture of us, me eating a chili dog while Chip had a hamburger. "Even just looking back is enjoyable…"

"Told you," I replied cheerfully, placing in a photo from Spagonia. "There's no way we'll forget this adventure!"

"That's for sure…" Chip replied, his tone suddenly taking a bit of sullen change. Before I could ask him about it, he was back to shuffling through the pictures. He took out one with both of us and Tails on it and placed it in the back. I reached for one too and started to laugh. Chip, figuring it was one of him, demanded to see it.

"You're sitting on the head of a giraffe!"

Chip started laughing too. "Yeah! Tails took that one actually…"

I blinked. "Really? Huh…that was before he started to get to know you…"

"What's the big deal?"

"Nothing, just that it surprises me a bit…"

Chip looked at the picture in his hand and grinned. I wanted to see it, so he handed it to me. One look at the photo and I wanted to discard it, but it was Chip's choice so I had to put it in.

"But my face looks like it was hit by a _car_ in this one!"

"If you let me put that one in, I'll let you put in the one of me hugging the apple and the wedge of cheese."

"Deal," I agreed instantly, slapping both of the pictures into the book. Right next to each other, they were pretty hilarious. Chip picked up one from Holoska, with him holding a giant fish that he had caught while I had fallen asleep in the snow. He really wanted to put that one in, so I placed it on the same page as…well… one of me sleeping in the snow.

"Ooh, yeah. I like that!"

"Oh, hush Chip."

I then picked up one that was lying all by itself and looked at it. Instantly, I started feeling all weird as I looked at it, and I wasn't sure what I was thinking. Chip noticed me suddenly looking all strange and asked me what was wrong with the picture.

"Nothing's wrong, Chip," I assured, feeling slightly sad as I stared at the photo. "In truth…I think this is my favorite one. It's just…wow. It feels like it was so long ago that we met, like we've been together for a lifetime…but it's only been several days…"

I slightly turned away, showing Chip the photo. He smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"Heh, I can see why you like that one…"

_It was a picture of us eating our ice creams in Apotos at my favorite spot._

"Since this is the best one…" I trailed, now sitting up against the tree and lifting the book towards me. "It should go on the very last page."

Chip nodded. "Yeah, best for last!"

I put it in, stared at it for a little bit longer, then shut the book. "Well, that about does it. I think we've gotten all the better picture in here, and there's still room for the few that we can take when we go to the seventh continent."

Chip lifted up the small stack of discarded photos. "What do we do with these?"

"Maybe Professor Pickle would like them…they're not bad by any means, but they just don't spark a memory like the ones in the book!"

Stretching out a bit, I looked up and saw the coconuts in the tree I was leaning on. Grinning, I glanced at Chip.

"Say, now that we're taking a break, how's about a snack?"

"Snack! Snack! Is it a pineapple?"

"…how about a coconut?"

"Okay! That works too!"

I chuckled, then pounded my fist into the trunk of the tree. Two coconuts fell perfectly into the palms on my hands. I cracked one against a rock, then gave Chip half. He slurped it instantly, then let out a sigh of satisfaction.

_Tails wasn't kidding when he said it was the best!_

Noticing the other half, he flew over and asked if he could have it. I happily handed it to him- I wasn't really hungry myself, I just wanted to relax.

Chip plunged his face into the coconut shell, causing it to get stuck on his face. He looked around, then frantically tried to pull it off. It was somewhat humorous, but just as I reached out help him, Chip managed to pry it off. He went flying into the ground from the force while I got conked in the head with the shell.

"Whoa! Ugh…"

Grabbing my head, I looked up- which was a huge mistake.

"AAAH-uunnnnh…."

Five coconuts toppled out of the tree and knocked into my head, nearly knocking me out! Weakly, I slumped again the tree and smiled when Chip returned and gazed longingly at the fruits.

Once my headache went away, I opened all the coconuts for Chip, who pulled out several straws from nowhere and enjoyed a seven-way drink while lounging in midair. It was definitely amusing to watch him sip those drinks and pat his stomach contently.

"Anyway," I started to say, stretching out and laying on my side, resting my head on my arm and my other arm on my bent knee. "We have to go check out the sunset later. It'll be the perfect way to finish off the day!"

"Oh yeah! Rudi did say they were beautiful!" Chip recalled. "I'll take a photo of it!"

"Sounds awesome! And, uh…" I wasn't really sure how to go about the next part, but it needed to be brought up again. And Chip slurping with gusto wasn't really making bringing up the subject any easier.

"Chip?"

Slurp.

"Eh…Chip?"

Slurp Slurp.

"CHIP!"

SLURRRRR- "Oh, heh heh…yeah?"

I sweatdropped, then slightly turned away. "Um…I'm not saying you have to do it right now, or later, or ever, but…your memories are apparently back now, and I really want to know about your past- I wanna know about who you really are! I mean, Chip's not even your name…"

Chip stopped slurping his drink and turned his back to me. "My real name might be a bit much to handle…and it certainly is quite a giveaway…"

"I can handle it. Just say it."

Chip shook his head. "No, not right now. If I reveal one thing, I have to reveal it all…"

He reached up and grabbed his jade, cringing as he clutched it tightly.

"…I'll…say what I need to at the sunset…"

I blinked and shrugged. "Okay then. I mean, I don't want you to think I'm forcing you or anything-"

"No, trust me, you're not, Sonic…you need to hear this, I think. Maybe it'll help you understand…"

"Chip, why do you sound so sad?"

"I'm not sad."

I gave him a look, even though his back was turned toward me.

"I can hear it in your voice! Is there a bad memory you recall?"

"No…"

"Are you upset about you who really are?"

"No…"

"Then what is it?"

Chip just shook his head, and I stopped pressing him. If I was Shadow or even Knuckles, I'd grill him until the information surfaced. But because I was Sonic, if Chip didn't want to say, then I was going to respect that. I returned to my pose and continued to stare at the ocean until Chip was finished with his snack.

I suddenly heard the click of the camera, and when I turned to Chip, he was holding out a picture of me resting against the tree with some huts in the background. I took it from him and smirked.

"We are so keeping that one."

. . .

Once the sun set, Chip and I headed back to one of the village docks to overlook it. As promised, Chip took a picture of the twilight landscape, then had Rudi take a picture of both of us overlooking it. Once she gave back the camera and walked away, we just sort of stood there, Chip taking in the beauty while I did that and waited slightly impatiently for Chip to reveal who he was.

_The sunset itself was really nice- though I wondered how long it would be before day turned into night and I was going to transform._

"My…my real name…" Chip suddenly spoke, and I gave him my full attention after that. "…is Light Gaia."

My eyes widened, but I was going to wait until he was finished to say anything.

"I draw power from the day and light, and guide the planet to its rebirth. My job was to protect the planet from Dark Gaia." He took a few steps forward and turned to me, looking serious. "But Eggman broke the world apart himself, and Dark Gaia and I were awakened before we should've been."

He stared at the ground, obviously upset, and I started to reach out a hand to console him. He continued, so I didn't move.

"That's why Dark Gaia broke apart, and I didn't know who I was. I didn't remember what I was supposed to do! All because this isn't the proper time of awakening."

"Time of awakening?" I had to ask.

_I was slightly relieved that me falling on him wasn't the cause of his amnesia though._

Chi- er, Light Gaia nodded.

"Dark Gaia grows over millions of years, then rises to destroy the world. And I…put it all back…together. We've been doing this over and over, again and again…since the very beginning of time!"

"So you were asleep all this time?" I asked in disbelief. "For millions of years?"

"Yes. For ages and ages."

He looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead returned to gazing at the sunset. I watched him with a perplexed expression, until I felt night fall and the darkness began to transform me.

_Oddly enough, I wasn't dying in pain with that transformation._

After checking myself over, I glanced at my companion, and a realization hit me.

"I bet it's thank to you…" I trailed, walking closer to him.

He slightly looked over his shoulder and went, "Hm?"

"Even at night, when I'm like this, I'm still myself. Not like all the other people we've seen. You must've been protecting me this whole time!"

Light Gaia shook his head.

"I haven't done anything, Sonic. You're the reason you haven't changed at all. You're too strong to lose yourself!"

I gaped at him, slightly shocked.

"_I'm_ the reason?"

_Even after all the complaining, the troubles, the hardships, the speeches, the insanity, the comparisons to inanimate objects to me saying I didn't even _feel_ like myself during the night…**I** was the reason I never gave up?** I** was the reason I constantly forged onward? After _all_ that…it was **me**?_

The messenger of light standing next to me could tell I was dazed, so he continued to explain.

"You never doubt yourself, no matter what. You never give in to the night, or the darkness inside your heart!"

"But…but I-"

"Sonic, if you had truly, honestly lost yourself to the dark of the night…would you be standing here right now, next to me, having saved nearly the entire planet?"

"I guess not…"

"Exactly. Even when you felt like there was no reason to go on or like you couldn't take it anymore, you kept going. I think it's because I knew that about you. That's why I wanted to you to help me!"

He started to fly in front of me, his expression suddenly matching the sad tones that he had spoke with earlier. Me trying to comprehend how I was still myself were pushed aside for the moment.

"It's been so fun, getting to see the world!" Light Gaia began, spreading out his arms for emphasis. "I've lived here since the planet began, but…I didn't know a thing about it! That it's so pretty, or that food tastes so good, or that people are so nice…I'm so glad I got the chance to discover all that with you, and I'm so glad that you helped me find my memory."

His expression grew even sadder, and it was making my heart start to sink.

"Sonic, I will never, ever, forget you." He closed his eyes and clenched his fists for a moment, before producing another sad smile. "Thank you, Sonic. Goodbye, friend."

_The look in his eyes told me that that was the true reason why he was upset._

He started to fly away, and this was one of those times I was extremely grateful to have stretchy arms.

"Hey!"

I reached out to grab him, stretching my arm until I finally did. He gave a surprised yelped as I pulled him back down to the dock.

"Where do you think you're going off to all by yourself?"

"What…but… my memory is back now, and…Well, from here on out, it's my responsibility, so, um…I mean, there's no reason for you to come along, so I should just…"

"Do I need a reason to want to help out a friend?" I asked, staring at the sky.

"…thanks Sonic."

I gave him a two-fingered salute, then exchanged another classic highfive of ours.

"YEAH!"

We shared a laugh, and I asked one last, very important question.

"Hey, uh…can I still call you Chip?"

"Ha ha ha, of course!" Chip giggled. "I'm kind of used to it now, and it'd be weird if you suddenly started calling me Light Gaia…besides, I like Chip!"

I smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Heh, cool! Now, we'd better head back to Tails…I can tell we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow…"

It would be more than big- it would be the day that determines whether or not we truly save the world.

_…which in my case is something that happens way too often._

* * *

**Ah, I've been waiting a long time for this chapter...and ironically I have only myself to blame. XD**


	41. Bringing the Unexpected into Reality

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Back at Shamar the next day, I sat on the roof of the lab, thinking hard. I hugged my knees as I rested my head on them.

"Chip said he had something important to do…I never would've guessed that he was destined to put the world back together in the first place…"

_Well, now I knew the truth about Chip. He was the opposite of Dark Gaia, he had been here for about forever, and when we finally put the last continent back into place, it was most likely that he was going to leave me._

How were we going to go about it? What would happen? Would I be able to pull myself away? I tried to picture any sort of scenario that we could possibly be placed in, but none of them seemed right. It unsettled me, but I didn't have time to think about goodbyes. We had to finish saving the world before Dark Gaia was complete and Eggman did some stupid thing to make everything worse.

I jumped off the roof, then turned around and entered the lab. Inside, Tails, Chip, Amy, and even the Professor were all up in a buzz. I don't think Chip told them about who he really was, but I had a feeling it was sort of better that way. He was eating some Paaf while Tails and Pickle were talking furiously, discussing every little detail about our next move. Amy stood off to the side, putting in the occasional input, but smiling at me as I walked through the door. Seeing that Tails, Pickle, and Chip were busy with whatever, I walked up to her while holding my hands behind my head.

"So…this next one's the last temple, right?"

I nodded. "Yep, but I'm still a bit cautious about just what it's going to be like…"

"You can do it. I believe in you!" Amy then clasped her hands together and swayed a bit. "…and when you're done, the world will be at peace, and we can finally go out!"

_Okay, Sonic. How do you plan to reply to this one? And whatever you do, do not bolt out the door! Again!_

My mind raked itself, trying to find the right words to refuse without hurting her, but none seemed to be existent. Just as I was about to tell Amy I was going to pass on that offer, something hit me.

_Maybe this was my opportunity to make her happy again...?_

I whirled around, my back toward Amy and now scratching my head. This was going to feel so weird…

"…That could be fun." I told Amy, though I think I was talking more to myself than her.

Apparently that wasn't what Amy expecting, because she suddenly threw herself into an excited frenzy.

"You…you mean it? !"

"Yeah…" I turned back around to face her and looked deadly serious. "But just one! Don't think we're in a serious relationship or that I'm gonna propose to you and please, basically, don't make a big deal out of it…"

She blinked, and I smiled slightly.

"Besides, it _could_ be fun, I suppose…"

She squealed and crushed me in a hug. "Yay! It's a promise!"

_The lengths I go to please people…_

Amy stopped hugging me, but continued to grip me by the shoulders. "Now go! Hurry up! Go save the world already, geez!"

I chuckled. "You're telling _me_ to hurry up? Ha!"

She stepped away as I walked over to Pickle and Tails, who looked as if their conversation was finally finished. Tails was practically bouncing on his heels as the professor eagerly turned to me.

"Ah, yes, Sonic…based on my analysis and data supplied by Tails…" the Professor began. "…I have ascertained the location of Eggmanland."

_Record scratch._

"Are you prepared for immediate departure?"

When he received no reply, Tails waved his hand in front of my face. "Eh, Sonic? You okay there…?"

"How come his mouth is open like that?"

"I think he's in shock…"

"Sonic! Yo!"

"I've got chocolate!"

"Maybe I should hit him-"

"_That_ won't be needed," I squalled, snapping out of it. "Sorry guys, I'm just stunned that I heard "Eggmanland" come out of someone's mouth that isn't Eggman."

"Well, it's true!" Tails exclaimed. "Eggman used the remaining continent to build the empire he's always dreamed of! You have to go in there and find the shrine!"

"And take Eggman down too," added Amy.

"And Dark Gaia as well!" threw in Chip.

"And return the world to its former glory!" Pickle finished. My jaw went slacked again.

_Good Chaos, a guy can't get a break, can he?_

"Again, I ask, are you ready for immediate departure?"

"…yes, I suppose I am. I'm good to go."

"This is it, Sonic…" Tails trailed. "No looking back now!"

I winked at him. "Hey, I'd never look back anyway!"

"The world can rest once again…" Chip trailed.

"Please don't take too long, Sonic!" Amy exclaimed. "And don't get yourself hurt, either."

"Oh you guys…" I spread out my arms and gave them a warm smile. "Who's up for a group hug just for the heck it?"

Tails, Chip, and Amy laughed as they plowed into me, Amy trying to nudge the other two out of the way so she could hug more of me. After a few seconds of that, Amy wished me luck, and Tails, Chip, and I were in our way out the door.

"Go now, Sonic, and stamp out this evil at its source!"

. . .

"We're almost at Eggman's base, Sonic."

"I'm still in disbelief."

"Disbelief about what, Sonic?"

"That Eggman actually built Eggmanland, Tails!"

"What's the big deal about that?" Chip asked.

"For as long as I've known him, Eggman's been trying to build Eggmanland, the Eggman Empire, Robotnik Empire- all sort of variations, but if he were to ever complete one, he'd use it to spread his evil all across the world!"

"So we've got to get there and stop him before he starts the spreading, in a sense," Tails added.

I relaxed on the wing and rolled my eyes. "Ha, he's probably gloating to a mirror about his success right about now."

"Or he might be piloting that giant thing over there…" Chip pointed out softly.

"What giant thi-"

"I doubted that he be happy to see us," I smirked. "I'd get ready for the welcome parade!"

Just like a time long ago, several robots came flying at us. Chip ducked down in his seat while I prepared for battle.

"Guess they won't just let us through."

"Here we go! Transform!"

"Not again!" groaned Chip.

Tails pushed the button, causing the Tornado to transform into battle mode. I grinned eagerly- blasting robots with missile was kind or fun, but not as fun as doing it with your bare hands!

The jet charged up a ton of power, and before any of us knew it, we went spiraling into the red sky, flying through musty-gray clouds.

"Okay Chip, you need to help Tails!" I exclaimed, firing a few shots. "He can't watch where he's going and the radar at the same time with all this craziness! Eggman really stepped it up!"

"I'm pretty sure I can," Tails protested. "But I guess it might be to our beenfit if I focus on one thing at a time..."

Chip popped out of his hiding place and obeyed, climbing up to the cockpit to man the radar while Tails flew.

"One on your left! Right in front of us! Left again! Now the right!"

I performed all of Chip's commands, shooting down each and every robot that came after us. I noticed that it was a lot larger of an onslaught than the last time, but it was still nothing I couldn't handle. Tails would turn and dodge when needed, Chip shouted out where I needed to shoot, and I caused several explosions.

_We were quite the team!_

"Hang on tight!" Tails called as the Tornado gained speed. I gripped the controls for dear life once again, my legs flying out from under me and flapping behind me. We took a sharp turn in the sky, then slowed down once our direction was changed. Chip groaned dizzily while grabbing his head as I started up on the rapid fire once again. Each and every robot I hit blew up like a firework then toppled out of the sky.

"If we're lucky, we can get past the barrage and land in Eggmanland without having to deal with Eggman," I said hopefully.

_And as usual, I spoke too soon._

The Egg Caldron reappeared, ready to blast us right out of the sky once again. Chip winced, Tails gulped, and I whistled.

"Whoa, welcome committee's out!"

"Ha ha ha ha! Don't think it'll be like last time!" Eggman cackled from inside.

"Ya just can't get enough, huh?"

"I think it's up to something. Be careful, Sonic!" Tails warned.

"The only thing I think it's up to is preventing us from getting into Eggmanland!"

"Go! Fire all weapons!"

I sighed, shaking my head while taking out the gang of missiles flying at us. Once they were all out of the way, I rapidly shot at the Caldron, doing a fair bit of damage. Eggman launch a few extra stray projectiles that never even touched us.

"Sonic, we've only got three minutes to dispatch this thing…" Tails trailed, doing the calculations in his head as he swerved downwards.

"Well, I guess we'll have some time left over, huh?"

The Tornado spun around as I fired the turrets, Eggman not even knowing what hit him. This time I didn't complain about Tails' erratic driving- it made everything more exhilarating! ...as long as I didn't fall off.

"Can't say the same about me…" groaned Chip, looking woozy from the spinning. "I shouldn't have eaten that Paaf…"

"Nrrrgh! Why you fidgety little…"

"What's wrong, Eggman? Is this turning out to be just like last time?"

"…fire all weapons!"

The Egg Caldron was already half damaged, and I had to laugh.

"His little minion robots were harder to take out than the Caldron!"

"Fire again Sonic!" Chip cried.

I started shooting at the Caldron instantly. "Roger that, Chip."

"Heh, the caldron's brewing up smoke now…" Tails chuckled.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen…" I began, taking aim at the Caldron again. "Prepare to be bedazzled as I finish off this pathetic excuse for a battle machine!"

_How does anyone fight with a caldron anyway?_

I unleashed an onslaught of bullets and other miscellaneous projectiles at the Caldron, and with a heavy boom, something snapped inside the Caldron that made Eggman absolutely furious.

"GRAAAAUUGGH! SONIC! Don't think you've won this!"

"Cool," I snickered, Tails and I giving Eggman a salute as he fell back down to Eggmanland. "I'm just glad we made it in one piece…"

. . .

Tails flew the Tornado over Eggmanland, Chip and I leaping off the side and skydiving down toward the entrance.

"Ha ha!"

I landed on my feet and settled my balance quickly- Chip stumbled a bit, but he touched down without any problems as well. Once we pulled it together, we started to make our way toward Eggmanland, and I just shook my head.

Remember a really long time ago when I said that if Eggman wanted to build Eggmanland, he should just go make an amusement park?

"Oh ho ho ho!" his automated voice rank throughout the park. "Welcome to Eggmanland, the brainchild of my heart and soul!"

We glanced at the ground and saw a circle open up, a golden statue of Eggman popping up.

_"This is my magnificent empire, made possible through my genius and the limitless energy harnessed from Dark Gaia!"_

"Wha-WHOA! This place is crazy!" Chip exclaimed. I couldn't stop shaking my head.

"I'll never understand Eggman's tastes," I scoffed.

Chip took a photo of the statue, then handed the camera to me. "Get a good shot!"

As Eggman continued to rant over the intercom, Chip and I ignored him to take a picture of Chip mocking the statue's pose.

_"Ah ha ha ha ha! Surprised? Yes, of course you are! Sonic!"_

I took the shot and showed it to Chip- we were definitely putting that one in the book. I gave him back the camera and started to walk toward the entrance again while he took more pictures.

_"If you have any complaints, come deliver them to me in person. If you can, that is! Heh heh heh heh…ha ha ha ha…HA HA HA-HACK! Hawugh, koff, whew…"_

"Ugh, he's enjoying this WAY too much."

"Sonic!" Chip suddenly shouted, standing on the top of the statue. "I can feel the last temple nearby! He must have built this place on top of it!"

"Well, I guess we'll just have to tear it down!"

_Now _this_ should be fun._


	42. Good Morning to a Death Trap

**Happy birthday, Sonic- you're going to Eggmanland! :D**

* * *

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"The final battle…there's no turning back now. Are you sure you're ready for this?" Chip asked me just before we officially entered the park. I shot him a thumbs up.

"I'm all set, Chip. The world can't save itself!"

Chip nodded and struck a battle pose. "Then this is it! Time to teach that funny old kook a lesson!"

I burst out laughing as I started to run- kook was one of many of prefect terms to describe Eggman.

"Anyway, here we go!"

Beyond the entrance, it wasn't as bright and neonish as I was expecting- it was metallic, with an occasional blue light running up the sides of the walls. As soon as I exited that first hall, I cringed.

_This whole area was surrounded by lava!_

"Who puts lava in an amusement park?" I questioned, bewildered.

I drifted around a curve, then bolted forward, jumping over a gap and landing on a twisted path. It made it slightly harder to run, but if I fell, I'd be taking a lava bath.

"Something tells me this isn't as easy as it originally sounded…" I trailed nervously, making it to the other side. I jumped off a spring, performed an Action Chain on a group of flying robots, then spiraled through a red loop and took off again.

A wall of robots stood in my way, and I was prepared to ram into them when they all suddenly sidestepped out of the way. Stunned briefly, I slowed down a bit and ended up crashing into the shield of a robot that didn't move.

"Daaah!"

I skidded along the metal floor, tumbling into the left wall.

"Wasn't expecting that…" I groaned as Chip helped me up. I shook it off, glaring at the robots, but left them be and continued to run.

I took a left fork in the path, drifting around the corner and blasting forward. The road started to thin and a bunch of swinging traps were overhead. Chip shielded his eyes, but there was nothing to worry about- I Sonic Boosted at the right time and made it through without a scratch.

"Sonic! Giant jumping spike balls!"

"…what?"

The next area already held more danger- several huge spike balls were crashing into the ground, then lifting back up and doing it all over again. I swerved around them, bemused.

_This park needs a warning sign that says: "This place is trying to kill you. Enter at your own risk."_

Getting past that small challenge, I drifted carefully through a winding path with no protection from sliding off the edge. I had to slow down several times due to the fact I was ready to fly off the edge at any given moment. Making it by that, I rushed over a Boost Pad, flew down quite a few halls, and came to the first area that actually represented an amusement park.

"So this is where he keeps the fun stuff!"

"Too bad the fun stuff is still lethal!"

I found myself grinding on a rail, watching as Eggmanland flew behind me in a blur. I hit a spring then caught a ride on a Ferris Wheel.

_It would have been a lot more appealing if Eggman's face wasn't plastered to it._

The ride went so slow, plus this Ferris Wheel didn't have any seats, so I was stuck spinning on a bar!

"Oh, come on already…"

When I was finally high enough, I let go and flung myself toward the next area, crashing into a robot and landing on another grind rail. It spiraled downwards, which made me nervous rather than thrilled. When it reached the bottom, I was tossed onto a Boost Pad and launched into a spring. After taking out a trio of robots, I landed in a rollercoaster.

"I hope this isn't designed to slam its passengers into a wall…" Chip moaned, hanging onto my arm while I hung onto the bar.

"Enjoy the coaster…enjoy the coaster…" I chanted to myself.

It went up slowly, like they all did, then took a sickening drop downwards which was enough to provoke a scream from Chip and I. The rollercoaster did a violent loop before stopping abruptly and propelling me through a series of loops. I thought I was safe until we landed in _another_ coaster.

The car drove right off the tracks, and before we could get out or anything, Chip and I were sliding through a gray-plated tunnel in a runaway rollercoaster car.

"Heh, just like Holoska…" I chuckled nervously.

"Except there's no snow, penguins, or whales _and_ we're bound to crash into something!"

"We are not going to- AUGH! Lean to the right! The right!"

The car started jerking back and forth as Chip and I frantically scrambled to control it. The jolts from it flying over Boost Pads and making jumps all by itself wasn't helping the situation either.

"Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall…" I chattered repeatedly as we constantly skimmed the edges of the tunnel. The tunnel ended on a dime, the car dropping down from under us as we continued to go forward. We grabbed each other, preparing for a splat into the ground or something, but instinct took over. I boosted in midair, allowing me to land while already accumulating a decent speed.

"Whew, that was nerve-racking…"

"Uh, Sonic…?"

"Please don't say there's a robot behind me."

"But there's a ROBOT BEHIND YOU!"

I looked over my shoulder and made a cow noise. "You again?"

_That green robot needed a life._

It put its razor hands together and charged at me, brushing against my heels and I sidestepped to my right. I hit a spring, flying over the robot as it flew in front of me. I boosted twice, but a well-timed jump allow me to slam into it three times. It flew upwards while I hit another spring and spun through a rainbow loop.

"Woo-hoo!"

"Now's not the time for cheering…" winced Chip, sitting backward on my head. I took off up the large cylinder-shaped room, bounding from spring to spring as I ventured toward the top. However, there was no top, and I was suddenly running along the wall of a hall without a floor.

"And he's back…" Chip moaned, but he didn't need to say anything. I heard the whir of the razors of the robot just fine. I dodged in the nick of time, glancing worriedly at the robot as it missed shaving off my quills.

"And we're flying again!" I cried, tripping over a spring. I ricocheted all over another cylinder room, this one featuring lava at the bottom! When I landed back on my feet, I was running along another wall, this time behind the green robot. I charged forward three times, hoping that it was enough to put it out of commission. Evidently it was because its shoulder started sparking and it exploded when it hit the ground. I whistled.

"Hopefully that's the last time we'll see him…" I trailed, heading deeper into Eggmanland.

I bounded from spring to spring in a third circular room, then Light Ring dashing into a room on the other side of the area. It led to what I perceived as underneath the park, since it was dark, mechanical, and I could hear tons of rumbling coming from up above.

"Geez, it sounds like an earthquake up there!" Chip cried.

"Nah, it's just the roar of the rides and contraptions above us," I assured. "Plus the huge pistons in the background…"

"I don't like it in here…it's too dark!"

"There's nothing I can do about that," I replied, sliding under a wall.

Chip slightly shivered. "Oog…"

I jumped off a spring, but it was really hard to see in there, so I wasn't expecting to slam into a wall. I took a few precious seconds to glance down before I realized I was about to slide into a bottomless pit.

"Yah! Not today!"

Acting quickly, I wall jumped toward the top before I fell, making a speedy getaway from the pit. Up ahead was a pulley that took me to a lower area, this one with spikes at the bottom. I swung several times on the handle before letting go and flinging myself to safer ground. I bounded off two pillars and charged through a rainbow ring, alighting on a Boost Pad after that and taking off.

"It's one thing after another with this place…" I panted.

"Just stay on your toes and we'll be fine," Chip tried to assure.

We were in an even darker part of the area, but at least it had dim lights hanging around here and there, which was better than nothing. The clanking of my feet running along the metallic paths echoed all throughout the room, and it even made me shiver slightly.

At the end of that particular place, another handle brought me down to a rocket. The last thing I was going to trust in Eggmanland was a rocket, but there was no other way out, so I jumped on it and shot off.

Chip and I held on for dear life as we flew down a lathe round hallway, collecting a few rings and soaring through a huge ring of spike balls. I cringed as we narrowly missed crashing into a wall when we flew through a small opening on the other side, just big enough to fit the rocket in. I jumped off and found myself grinding on a conveyor belt.

"I can feel my heart beating…" muttered Chip.

I could feel mine too, now that he mentioned it. I kept forging onward, aiming to get out of this death trap as fast as possible. I drifted around a corner, where the pistons were still pumping and turrets were shooting. I dispatched them all before carrying on.

The path twisted again, and just the way it was built made me awfully apprehensive. If I went too fast, I'd fall, and if I went too slow, I'd fall. Chip winced as I jogged on a higher end of the path, going a bit too fast when the path started to slope down again. I accidentally stepped on a Boost Pad, causing me to constantly have to jerk to the left and right just to stay on track.

"At least I'm finally off that twisty road…" I sighed in relief, now running on large metal pipe.

"Just don't slip here, Sonic…and watch out for the few robots up ahead!"

_Quite the confidence booster, huh?_

I took a deep breath and plodded on, taking precautious measures to not turn to sharply and to watch where I was going. Whenever I hit a robot, I slowed down and waited until I regained my balance before taking off again.

I felt myself panting as I jumped off the pipe, but now I was making several leaps over gaps in the path. Robots popped out of thin air which constantly gave me a jolt, and if I didn't keep my focus I'd be sure to screw up.

"Keep your eyes on the road…" I told myself. I reached the last platform and ran into a spring, sending me flying through a rainbow loop. The next area had me side-stepping a bunch of gears, and how close I ended up to them made Chip slightly hysterical.

"Can we get out of here, Sonic? ! GAH!"

"I'm trying!" I gritted through my teeth, trying not to let him distract me.

Chip's teeth were chattering as I launched myself into the air, homing in on a bar up above and swinging into a few robots. After that, I ducked under swinging traps, danced all around the gaps, and threw myself into another spring just to get out of there.

The paths up ahead were really narrow, and instead of blazing through I actually stopped running and walked it.

"This is one time I don't want to risk it…" I trailed, Chip feeling faint as the gears churned on both sides of us.

After making it to bigger ground, I picked up speed again and hopped through a rainbow loop. A few seconds later and I would've fell down a bottomless pit. I didn't even have time to comprehend how lucky I was- I was busy swinging on another bar, trying to time my next jump right so I wouldn't get hit by the death pendulum in front of me. I let go at the right time, only to have to do it again.

"Almost there…" I breathed, letting go again and reaching the other side. Up ahead was a straightforward path, where Chip instantly went crazy.

"The Goal Ring! The Goal Ring!" he cried.

I bolted forward as my response. As soon as I few through it, I skidded to a stop so I could take a breather. There were a few close shaves here, but it was only going to get tougher from here on out…

_I've never been so happy to see a Goal Ring in the daytime._


	43. Where the Moon and Sun Become One

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Chip and I continued to venture through Eggmanland, both of us apprehensive about what was up ahead. I was going to go through with it no matter what I was feeling, but I couldn't tell why Chip was so jittery. After all, he was all ready to go earlier!

_I'd never be able to understand what goes on in the mind of a deity._

Anyway, I was currently making my way through a deeper part of the empire, and this one was less dark, but a lot more menacing.

"Blasted lasers…" I muttered, jumping and ducking over several of them.

"We sure have been here for awhile, huh?" Chip questioned, looking around curiously. I nodded, kicking a robot in the head.

"Yeah, I believe it's still daytime since I'm still me, but I'm wondering how long it'll be before night falls…"

I climbed up onto a higher area, finding a circle of robots. They all sensed me enter and whirled around to try and shoot me. I sprung upwards, avoiding at least ten missiles exploding where I once stood. Now in midair, it made trashing the robots twice as easy! I spun into them all, resting in the middle as they all burst into pieces.

"…if I don't get out of here before tonight, I'm going to be out of my element…"

I bolted after that, tearing through any stray robots like they were nothing. I ran over a ramp, floating in the air briefly before I managed to make it to the other side of a huge gap.

"Now that was a jump!" I whistled. Three missiles rammed into each other above my head as I alighted, running down the road to see what was in store for me next. I pushed off the ground, soaring into a few rings prior to landing on a grind rail.

"Ah, the view of the place is much less threatening from up here!" I exclaimed cheerfully, jumping onto a different rail. "Woo!"

I circled a merry-go-round then sprung up onto a building of sorts. The robot that was waiting for me was quickly turned into scrap and I carried on. Between the springs, rings, and rails, Chip and I continued to make our way toward even higher parts of Eggmanland, and it had me questioning just how big this place was…

"I'd assume it's as big as the continent!" Chip replied.

_I was speaking my thoughts again…_

"You're probably right Chip…" I trailed. "But that just makes finding the shrine a lot more difficult…"

I continued to grind over Eggmanland, staring down at all the rides, attractions, and contraptions below. Somewhere down there was the final shrine, and I was going to do whatever it took to find it!

The current rail went through a neon sign of Eggman's head, plummeting downward before releasing me onto another building. I kicked a robot into a wall while I rushed around the corner, causing everything else on the building to blow away with the aftermath. I was running perfectly fine, ready to charge into anything, until I tripped over something.

"What the…? What did I trip over?" I groaned, face planted in the ground.

"Gah! Sonic!" Chip cried.

"What is- GrrrraaaaRRGH!"

As I pushed myself off the ground, I felt darkness suddenly absorb into me, and when I pulled myself together, I found out I had transformed.

"What in the heck…? ! Is it nighttime?"

I checked myself over constantly as Chip shook his head. "No…it happened when you ran into that hourglass…"

Glancing down, I realized Chip was right.

"So when I tripped over the hourglass…it made it nighttime?"

"It's still daytime Sonic, but…hrm, how do I put this…" Chip flew around pondering over how to explain. "Well, since you hit it, it basically made it nighttime for you, despite it being daytime…at least, that's my comprehension. Which isn't really much comprehension at all."

"…No!"

"No?"

"This is totally unfair! I mean, I just said that I needed to get out of here before I turned into this monster, and what happens? I turn into a monster and it's still daytime! Why doesn't this happen to anyone else, huh?"

"Sonic, calm down! If you find another hourglass then you can change back, okay?"

I grunted, grabbing a lever in front of me and pulling it. "…fine."

The door that neither of us paid any mind to until now opened, and I ran off- as fast as I could go when I was sluggish.

_I tend to jinx myself all too often._

"At least there's no monsters!" Chip pointed out while I clawed into a gang of robots. "That's a plus!"

I just finished off the robots and made my way to the next area. I double-jumped, reaching up and grabbing the ledge of the next platform. I took out two robots with chainsaws, which allowed me to get by and climb up yet another ledge with even more robots.

"Sure, pile on the foes when I'm not feeling up to it…" I mumbled, clutching the leg of one and smashing it into another. As I was finishing up with them, something hard rammed into my back, sending a shockwave coursing through my body and making my fur stand on end.

"Graaaah!"

I slumped to the ground as the robot turned his electric shield off, raising its chainsaw arm. My mobility returned just in time for me to roll out of the way of becoming sliced in half. I stood on my hands and swung my legs into it, sweeping it right off the edge and sending it plummeting somewhere below. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that there was one left and I took a step towards it- it jumped off the edge with no extra charge.

_I think Eggman needed to fix that one's AI._

With the way clear, I walked toward a lever and activated it- some sort of ride turned on, and I realized that it was my ticket out of there. It was a bunch of seat-like things moving on a rail, so I grabbed onto a handle on the back of one.

"Wonder where this'll take us…" Chip trailed.

I waited impatiently for the ride to reach some sort of ground, and when I finally managed to jump on the top of a spinning teacup, a pack of robots appeared and charged instantly, chainsaws held out in front of them. I punched the one closest to me into a teacup before chasing down another. It tried to run away rather than attack me with its deadly weapon, but I grabbed its non-lethal arm and tossed it over my shoulder. It crashed into the robot sitting discombobulated in the teacup, and I grinned when I heard two simultaneous "booms" ring out.

"Ah, the sweet sound of victory!"

Two more robots ran in to approach me, but they were quickly knocked away by my fists. I grabbed them both and began to spin around, finishing them off by chucking them over the edge.

"Another perk about this is that I don't have any pesky barriers to deal with," I said snarkily, jumping onto a platform and pulling another lever. It activated a platform, which I promptly jumped on, and it took me to a ledge that contained another hourglass.

"See, that wasn't so bad, huh, Sonic?" Chip asked, watching as I punched the hourglass and the darkness was expelled from me. I just shrugged and jumped onto a nearby spring.

"It could've been worse, definitely."

Once I was back on my feet, I returned to running happily. Jumping and ducking around lasers and avoiding huge blocks with Eggman's face were just a small price to pay to have my true form back.

After that, I wall jumped upwards, avoiding spinning pink fans and reaching the top part of the area. I jumped through a loop, smashed a robot, and broke a ton of crates and landed in a clear pipe all in the same move.

"Why does Eggman have a giant pipe here?" Chip asked as I sped through the tube.

"Only Chaos knows…"

I did a loop until the pipe spat me out into a blue and pink room, where I hardly knew what was going on. I thought I was on a grind rail, but I was going way too fast to be doing that. Looking down, I realized that I was in another rollercoaster.

_But this one was actually fun!_

"Whee!"

I threw up my hands and cheered as the coaster spiraled out of the tunnel and back out into Eggmanland. Yellow sparks flew out as it sped through hoops, circled around buildings, and…broke into several pieces?

"Not again! Not again! Not aga-"

"Shush Chip! Steer! STEER!"

We were back to surfing through a tunnel on a getaway rollercoaster car- the only difference this time was that spikes and robots were all fair game, scattered about in the area. We did our best to avoid them, but we hit at least one set of spikes and knocked down a series of robots like they were bowling pins.

"Why are we sideways? !"

"Turn! TURN! Lean!"

We both leaned in opposite directions, which didn't really help anything. The cart went flying over a ramp and crashed down onto another tunnel. Chip and I jolted with the sudden landing, then tried to get the coaster straight again.

"Oh man, we're on the edge!"

"To the left! To the left!"

"Yours or mine?"

"They're the same left!"

Once we finally leaned left, we managed to straighten out the cart and get away from flying off the edge. I was serious now, barking out orders to Chip when necessary.

"All right, lean up!"

"How do we do that aga-"

"UP!"

We "leaned up", taking off over a ramp again and being jostled when we landed. Chip was dangling over the edge of the car as I leaned to the left, trying to make it through a hard turn. I slammed into a few robots along the way, but no one was going to miss them right?

"Left! Right! Left! Up!"

"This is even crazier than I thought!" Chip just about screamed.

"It's still somewhat fun!"

"No, I mean now we have to avoid slow-spinning blades of death!"

"Say what-"

The few robots I was hitting went tumbling upwards, clanking against huge metal blades that were spinning right in the way. The front of the cart slammed into one, causing us to go spinning out.

"AUGH! Get a grip on this thing!"

"There's nothing to grip!"

"Well then steer!"

"There's nothing to steer either!"

"Then lean some more!"

We screamed, swerving every which way and soaring over a ramp, taking us through the center of the blades without getting hurt. Another ramp took us to another area where robots were knocked out of the way like dominoes.

"Any signs of any more blades?"

"None that I can see, thank goodness!"

The cart crashed into the side of a platform, not having enough air to make it all the way across. I jumped out of the vehicle at the last second, then proceeded to dispatch a horde of robots in the way. Grinning, I rushed over a ramp, flying in midair for a long time until gravity took effect and brought me back down to the ground. As I flew, I noticed six golden statues of Eggman lined up, three on either side of me. I had to roll my eyes at that.

_Someone was certainly feeling egoistical…_

Anyway, I landed back on the ground and started to run, only to stumble over another hourglass.

"Oh great…" I grumbled, scowling as I transformed back into a Werehog. "This is going to become a regular thing, huh?"

Chip shrugged. "Don't look at me- I didn't design this place!"

"I think I like the runaway coasters better…" I mumbled, pulling a nearby switch to remove the lasers that were blocking the way forward. "Let me do that than have to be a Werehog more than necessary…"

"Yeah…especially when it involves carefully navigating a factory-like area with oozing lava at the bottom that could turn you into more than a golden brown in mere seconds…"

"What is that supposed to…wait, huh?"

Chip ushered me into the next area where his description came true- walking over narrow pipes and unstable platforms over a sinister-looking bed of lava. I sweatdropped.

"Nothing's ever easy…"

I tried to retain my composure as I stepped onto the first pipe, training myself to not look down at the lake of fluid fire below. Flames jetted out of the pipe I was currently on, causing me to jump in surprise and land on a pipe farther down.

"Geez…"

I took a deep breath and walked one foot after the other, holding my arms out to keep the balance. Chip kept his hands plastered over his mouth to prevent any sudden outbursts until I was back safely on solid footing.

"Whew…I know this place is filled with lava, but man it's hot!" I panted, trying to fan myself as I started walking along another pipe. "This fur might be good for Holoska, but not so much here…"

"Poor Sonic," Chip stated softly as I reached the other side of that pipe. When I did, however, I was a bit taken aback.

"Okay, if it's still day, why is there a Dark Master right there?"

"Beats me," Chip replied as I went to go tackle the witch. "The robots are out, so it can't really be night either!"

"They go down all the same, no matter what time of day it is!" I exclaimed, throwing the witch into the wall before turning to the robots. One I was easily able to kick into the scorching lava below, but the other one put up a bit of a fight. If I didn't watch myself, one of my arms would definitely be hacked off in the process. I managed to knock its shield out of its possession, then landed a blow that sent it on its back. I jumped on its torso and rapidly wailed on it, giving it enough dents to cause it to explode.

_Dunno what I was thinking with that, but it worked!_

I threw a switch placed off to the side which opened a door that led into more of the factory area. Unfortunately, that meant more pipe-walking, and I carefully got back to work. After twisting, turning, swinging, climbing, and nearly dying, I made it to the other side, where an hourglass was happily waiting for me. I just about knocked it over when I flipped it, falling to the ground as I returned back to normal.

"My goodness Sonic, you're practically melting!" Chip cried after lightly tapping my forehead.

"Heat, pressure, and a thick fur coat can do that to a guy…" was my muffled reply. "This metal floor is so cold…it feels so good…"

"Well you can't just lay there! It's like you said- the world can't save itself!"

I moaned as I pushed myself off the floor- that cool down would have to do for now. I trudged over to a spring that bounced me to a pipe with built in Boost Pads. The run along that one was less painful, considering I was moving above the heat faster than it could get to me. I ran right out of the factory section after running a loop and ended up back in a darkened area.

_What made it twice as horrifying was Eggman's face everywhere._

"Oog. Now this place could give anyone the creeps," I commented as I wall jumped upwards. I then found myself running through a orange tunnel, which was a heck of a lot more safe than the spikes and spinning pink fans I had avoided before. It led out to a grind rail, which made me doubly happy.

"Feeling good!" I shouted, spiraling downwards before being flung off and forced to wall jump again.

"Boy, we're really getting down in Eggman's base, aren't we?" Chip asked nervously.

"Yeah, and this just the beginning," I moaned, reaching the bottom of the current area.

It had a conveyor belt that was running against me, making my brief happiness from riding the rail go away.

I_ despise conveyor belts and treadmills. Especially treadmills._

I fought against the grain, struggling to go onward regardless of the ground below me going the opposite way. It didn't help I was being hindered by oncoming spikes, mines, and laser walls either.

"Eggman definitely took it to the max with this place…"

When I finally forged my way to the other side, I reached out for a pulley and grabbed it like my life depended on it. It took me away from the treadmill torture and brought me to ramp, where I ran over it at top speed and practically flew to the other side. However…there wasn't another side, and I found myself freefalling.

"Okay…this isn't so bad…"

I glanced downward at the spikes balls, lasers, and spinning blades of death that were bound to get in my way.

"Now it is…"

I maneuvered myself back and forth, barely managing to slip in between lasers and the spaces between the blades. One false move would probably send me to my doom, but I played it smart and managed to make it safely to the bottom.

"Whew…"

"All that and we're still not even close to finding the shrine…" Chip sighed, looking downcast.

"We'll find it! We've already combed enough of this place- we have to come across it eventually! And if we move quickly, we'll probably-"

I was cut off by my pained scream, which made Chip yelp as well and back up a little. I trembled uncontrollably, watching as my arms sprouted fur and my gloves tore off, thanks to rapidly growing claws. Fur returned all over my body, and my now enhanced fangs protruded out of the sides of my mouth. When the transformation was finished, I winced as I stared at the ground.

"…I take it it's nighttime now…"

"I guess so…" Chip sighed.

"As much as this is going to hinder me, I can't exactly wait for the sun to come up again…"

"If only we could, but we're running out of time as it is…"

I brought my gaze up, staring into another neon entrance. Eggman's head once again hung right above it, and I narrowed my eyes in determination. I motioned for Chip to follow, and we plodded on forward. There was no time for complaining, nor was there any use in doing so.

_The only thing I wished for was that I didn't have to confront Eggman like this…_

* * *

**This is so close to the end now...it _only_ took me two years. :P **


	44. The Descent into True Enemy Territory

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

"Okay, according to this schematic…" I began, looking at a piece of paper of the wall. "There are five levels of this area. Unfortunately, we have to start at Level 1. But if we make it all the way through, we should reach the shrine!"

"I can't believe Eggman would do something like this," Chip huffed, arms folded and looking upset. "I wonder what this continent was like before he messed it all up…"

I started to dash off, running down the path on all fours. "Well, maybe when we reach the shrine and restore the continent, it'll chase Eggman away, and we can tear this amusement park gone wrong to the ground! And eventually, one day, it'll be restored to its former glory!"

"Maybe the next time the world breaks apart and I wake up again, I'll have to see what it looks like…"

We got silent after that, and nothing of particular interest happened until I smashed a door that was in our way. Glancing at what was up ahead, I made a face.

"Does Eggman think breaking down doors are easy?" I questioned, wailing on one of two doors that were now in the way.

"Obviously he doesn't want us getting by…"

"Well sorry to disappoint him," I snickered, giving the door one last punch before it caved in. We trotted through the now accessible hallway into a room with monsters waiting for us. Several Red Nightmare emerged out of the ground, grunting and snarling at us like mad dogs.

"They can even morph through metal!" Chip cried, flying around crazily. I just balled up my fists and charged into battle.

"They never us give us some kind of warning…" I stated irritably, reaching for the Nightmare before me and throwing it with ease. It went skidding across the floor, bowling over a few of its buddies.

"Eggman definitely has some…interesting interior decorating perspectives," Chip stated, gazing around at the metallic walls we were encased in. I just stared at him while performing a full nelson on a creature.

"Whoa, you kinda sounded like Tails for a moment."

"Really? I must've been listening to him talk one time too many! But he's really smart! I wish I was that intelligent!"

I glanced at the ground as I carried on. "Yeah, sometimes I do too…"

I was suddenly punched in the side, causing me to whirl around and smack the Nightmare across the face. I aimed to officially make it pay, but another came out of nowhere and held me over its head.

"What in the hey? Put me down!"

I whirled around, then spun in the opposite direction, getting the Nightmare to let me go. While it was spiraling uncontrollably from my quick move, I gave it a kick to the side and sent it right back to where it came from.

"And that's how it's done!"

The remaining four closed in on me, but I extended my arms and swung around rapidly, knocking them all down like dominoes. Within the same move, I grabbed the tail of one and started to spin it around, sweeping the nightmares all into one convenient pile.

"…and glad that's over," I muttered to myself after quickly finishing them off. "Hopefully we won't be ambushed around every corner like in Shamar."

Chip nodded in agreement, though he looked doubly cautious as he poked his head around the corner. I just walked forward, jumped, and latched onto a peg sticking out of the wall. Doing this twice, I managed to maneuver myself to a normally unreachable hall.

"Now that I think about it, I'm guessing we should've brought that blueprint with us…" groaned Chip.

"Eh, I'm sure we'll be fine without it!"

_For how long?_

I collected rings as I made my way through the hallway. The walls were nonexistent, unless you counted rapidly spinning gears and pumping pistons as the walls. Of course, it only made sense that a base like this was filled with things like that.

"Eggman's got something planned, of course…" I muttered to myself, standing on a button that opened the door at the end of the hall.

"What kind of thing do you think it is, Sonic?" Chip asked.

"Depends…probably a robot, but I can't help but think there may be something more to it…"

Before I could finish my thought, I suddenly felt the floor lowering beneath my feet, saw a force field go up in front of the way we came in, and several monsters materialize in the area.

"What the heck is going on now? !"

"We're in an elevator!" Chip cried. "A really big, round elevator!"

I paced around, looking for anything harmful, but I found nothing of interest until the elevator came to a stop. When I circled back around again, I was face to face with at least six Killer Bees. I yelped slightly and ducked when they charged, hearing their buzzing over my head. I sprung back to my feet quickly, taking a swing as two of them took a u-turn.

"Good thing there's some crates here…" I said to myself, jumping in a small room filled with crates. The swarm of bees came flying at me, and I took out two at a time with well-timed crate throws. Once I was out of crates (and out of bees), I jumped out of the small room…and was instantly attacked by a Red Fright.

"When'd he get here?"

He hopped up and started to gnaw on my wrist, only to be promptly smashed into the wall. It let out a yelp as it released my wrist while I balled up my fist and bonked the Fright on the head.

And if that wasn't enough, I had a Spike suddenly creep up behind me. It charged straight into me, nearly knocking me off my feet, and igniting its internal time bomb.

"Where were you when I actually had enemies you could've blown up?" I complained, grabbing it and throwing it as far away from me as possible. It hit the wall and exploded on contact, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief. Now that the final monster was defeated, the elevator descended again. More monsters came into existence the moment the elevator stopped again. Almost as instantly, I rolled out of the way as the several Red Nightmares tried to dog pile me.

_One against eight is hardly fair._

"I'm deciding whether or not I should go all out on you guys…" I trailed, circling the room, ready for anything.

I felt a cold fist strike against my cheek.

"Okay, I'm going all out. RARGH!"

Chip shielded his eyes as I suddenly burst out in the radiant blue aura, charging at the Nightmare that had dared to smack me. I pounced on it and brought it down to the ground with little effort. I literally knocked the senses out of it, then proceeded to knock it into its fellow Nightmares. Once that one was taken care of, I charged at four of the nightmares, making them all dizzy and leaving me free to attack.

I tripped one, causing it to topple over another. I then jumped off them to kick the third one in the head. The two of them got off the ground and tackled me when I landed, followed by the fourth one grabbing my foot and tossing me around. My claws scratched against my floor, causing an unbearable sound for everyone within hearing range.

"ARGH, Sonic!" Chip whined, flying around with his hands practically in his ears.

"Sorry," I said while cringing- the sound hurt me too!

And luckily, the Nightmares weren't immune either.

Each of the remaining Nightmares were howling up a storm, grabbing their heads and stomping the ground. While they were distracted, I outstretched my arms and ran right down the middle of them. The four I had gotten into a tussle with fell immediately, but there were still three Nightmares left…and they didn't look all too thrilled about that.

"What're ya giving me those looks for, huh?" I taunted, folding my arms. "You're going to be joining your friends in a few moments!"

I ducked as one lunged at me, but then the second one tackled me. We tumbled along the floor until I threw it into the wall, hearing a harsh "thud" afterwards. Just as I stood back up, the last Nightmare whacked me in the back on the head, and I fell over.

"I see you guys are a bit tougher…"

I struggled to stand as I rubbed the back of my head. When I came back to my senses, the three Nightmares were circling me, all three of them getting ready to attack when necessary. I faked a move, then quickly jumped up as the three of them charged forward and butted heads. Coming back down, I put my hands together then pounded into the trip of foes, finally dispatching them.

The elevator descended once more as the blue aura around me faded away. I gave Chip a signal that it was okay to come out (for the moment) and my companion quickly floated back down to my side.

"Do you think there'll be any more monsters?" he asked, glancing around frantically.

"I'll be surprised if there isn't…"

_And to my surprise, there wasn't._

The elevator halted at the very bottom, the force field surrounding the exit disappeared, and I bolted forward. The lower leveled hall cut deeper into the area, being dimly lit and full of crates.

"Wow, this must be where Eggman dumps his clutter," mumbled Chip, sitting on one of the crates.

"And yet, this is probably just a fraction of it with all the robots and other junk he builds…" I replied while pulling myself onto a ledge. However, once I stepped on that ledge, the floor beneath me caved in. "WAAAAH!"

"Sonic!" Chip cried, diving in after me. When he found me, I was sitting in a even bigger and darker area, with a lot more debris loitered around.

_Plus a few monsters, but what are they compared to trash?_

As I slowly recovered from the fall, Dark Bat Thunders and a Big Mother started advancing toward me…plus all the Red Frights the mother gave birth to. I winced and narrowly missed being sniped in the face by a ball of electricity. However, I didn't really start fighting until after the Big Mother slammed her massive hands into the ground and the shockwave catapulted me into the wall.

"Is that all you got?" I moaned, dizzily stumbling around.

Chip groaned as he brought his palm to his forehead.

"Well, in any case, I'll just take of you guys first," I said, running at the Red Frights. I knocked them all silly after one swipe, but then I discovered a more effective way. I jumped on the back of a Dark Bat Thunder, then started hitting the Frights with the balls of electricity. Needless to say, they went down a lot more efficiently.

"See? That takes care of that!" I chuckled. Chip watched as I promptly jumped over another shockwave, then ran in to attack the Big Mother. I latched onto her back with one hand and slashed away with the other. The giant foe yelled loudly, then spun around and slammed her back into the wall- with me unfortunately on it. The wind was briefly knocked outta me, but I managed to push her off me and run away.

Four Dark Bat Thunders were still lingering around the room, so I decided to take care of them while the Big Mother decided to spawn the next generation of Frights. The first one went down without a problem…

…but the other three decided to tag-team and blast me in the back.

"OOMPH!"

I fell forward and landed on my face. Shrugging it off, I stood back up, swinging my fits in one of the Bat's direction as I did. The blow knocked it right out of the air and out of commission. I smirked, standing back up and getting ready to finish off the last two. They hovered around excitedly, looking to exploit some weakness in my defense.

_The only weakness I had was my blind spot._

I didn't even know what hit me- I felt a large object whack me across the face, and I went spiraling into the air. It was too strong of a blow for one of the Thunders to execute (and impossible for the little Frights to perform).

When I landed back on my feet, I charged at the Big Mother, preparing to get her back for smiting me like that. She was caught off guard, luckily, and my harsh tackling didn't help her condition.

"How do you like me now? !"

I swung up over her head, then brought my feet down. The Big Mother let out a pained roar and attempted to shake me off, but I clung for dear life and refused to be tossed off. Once she stopped thrashing about, I unloaded with an onslaught of punches, and eventually she couldn't take anymore. The Big Mother went still and simply lurched forward.

I smiled- not too bad of a hassle! But Frights and Thunders were still around, and they were almost going to be more of a pain than the Big Mother was. I felt my jaw; it was still a bit sore from being smacked so hard more than once.

_Hey, I've taken worse._

Using the Dark Bat Thunders to my advantage, I managed to electrocute the Frights to their doom, followed by finishing off the Thunders themselves.

"That should do it!" Chip exclaimed, giving me a thumbs up. Me, I just grimaced.

"Uh…why aren't the fields going down…?"

"Probably the same reason as to why there's TWO MORE BIG MOTHERS APPEARING!"

I did a double take and bolted away from the center of the room- sure enough, two more Big Mothers were materializing into existence to try and kill me.

"Oh, come ON!" I yelled, leaping over two sets of shockwaves. "I just took down one!"

"Then taking down two shouldn't be as hard?" Chip suggested meekly.

This was proven false when one Mother grabbed me and threw me at the other. The other then proceeded to mash me into the ground.

"Okay, maybe not…"

"Well don't think I'm suddenly going to become a pushover," I mumbled, spreading out my arms as I began to glow blue once again. The two foes thrashing about in the middle of the room instantly notice my boost in power, seeming hesitant, but approaching me anyway. The first one was punched back violently, stumbling across the floor. I smirked, then whirled around and smacked the second one. It hissed at me and started to open the large mouth on its belly, but lost in a frenzy, I latched onto its back.

"Don't you even dare think about it!" I howled, tugging and slashing all in the same moves. The Big Mother let out crazed shrieks as she thudded around the area trying to shake me off. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Chip trying to block his ears off from the horrendous noise. Deciding I better finish up quick, I pulled back so far on the mother until my feet could touch the floor. Following this, I lifted the Big Mother up over my head and slammed her into the wall before I ended up hurting myself. With a loud moan, she fell defeated.

"…what is wrong with me?" I wheezed, stumbling around. "I can't believe I just lifted a monster over my head that weighs a TON! Oog…"

"Can you hold up?" Chip asked, though by now, he had said it so much that I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

_I couldn't respond anyway- the other mother sent me flying across the room._

"Crud, that one can still spawn…" I grunted, watching as a few Red Frights filled the room once again. I pushed myself back to my feet, reaching for one of the Frights at the same time. With a flick of my wrist, the Fright went flying into the Mother, briefly knocking it out of its senses.

_And I gained an idea._

"Watch where you're throwing those things!" Chip wailed, ducking, dodging, and veering out of the way of the Frights I threw. The Big Mother was experiencing an onslaught of her own creations, courtesy of yours truly. Not only was I bringing down the brute bit by bit, but I could take out the Frights simultaneously!

"I am so clever," I smirked, running in to do the final blow on the Big Mother. Jumping off a stray Fright that I had missed, I spun around with my arms outstretched, each of my fists striking the Big Mother three times. She fell backwards, landing in a thud of defeat. The force fields gracefully disappeared, Chip returned to my side, and I poked my head around the corner of the now accessible hallway.

"There's a pole leading down!" Chip exclaimed.

I replied begrudgingly, "I can see that…" and trotting over to it. I grabbed it and slid down, thinking about all the times I shared with the object in question. The first time I tried to jump off, slipping in Chun-Nan, nearly freezing in Holoska… I certainly came a long way.

Next thing I knew, Chip was snapping his fingers in front of me.

"Whuzzut?"

"You zoned out again…" Chip pointed out. "I figured you'd be performing a song and dance number upon seeing the Goal Ring right in front of you…"

"Eh…well, let's just say I feel accomplished," I finally managed to get out, stepping through the Goal Ring. "After all, that's one Level down…"

"With four to go," Chip finished with a groan.

"I wonder how deep it goes…" I pondered, looking ahead.

"Tails estimated that Eggman tried to get as deep as possible…" trailed Chip, and I noticed a light shiver go up his spine. "Most likely for the purpose of reaching Dark Gaia…"

"Which makes this race against time even more urgent," I huffed under my breath, taking off into what looked like a robot factory. Chip stayed where he was, looking perplexed for a few moments, before finally deciding to jet off after me.

. . .

"Well, geez, they sure don't give a guy a chance to breathe."

I had barely taken three steps and I already found myself in another battle! Even Chip was gaping as a swarm of Red Frights started snapping at me, along with a Lightning Master watching over them. I just sighed.

"Argh, I cannot wait until all this Nightmare fighting comes to an end…"

"It won't end until we defeat Dark Gaia," Chip commented off to the side.

"It won't end until I lose my night form!" I retorted, slamming my fist into a Fright.

Chip groaned. "Here we go again…"

I paused in the middle of wresting the Lightning Master to glance at Chip. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Chip shrugged. "This is the part where you go on and on about how you hate your night form."

I grabbed the witch and thrust her into the wall, gritting my teeth as I did so. Chip watched calmly as my fighting grew more violent, with foes flying everywhere and shrieks bouncing off the wall. I piledrived into a group of four Frights, followed by snatching up a fifth and throwing it into the force field. By the time I was finished rampaging through everything, Chip was easily eating a bar of chocolate.

"I love how you're not taking this seriously," I seethed, stepping onto a conveyer belt that led out of the room. Chip nearly choked on his chocolate after hearing that.

"Me not taking this seriously? ! After I got my memories back, I've been taking this even more seriously than ever before! I have to fulfill my duties! I have to stop Dark Gaia!"

"And I want things to just go back to the way they were!" I exclaimed. "Do you have any idea what it's like to suffer every night? ! I try so hard to ignore it, but I can't! The only thing pushing me forward at night is the fact that if I keep going, I can be free of this curse. And the scary thing is, in the daytime, I don't think like that. I think about all the people scattered throughout the world, in need of someone to put their home back together…"

I clenched my fists and squeezed my eyes shut. "I don't understand anything that's happening to me. I'm such a huge contradiction to myself that I don't even know what's right and what's not anymore. If it's not my night form that's bringing me down, it's gotta be these thoughts that are always running around in my head! So while you lounge in midair eating candy, I'm in a war against myself trying to have things make sense again!"

Chip got awfully silent after my outburst of a speech, and I went over it again several times in my head to see if I had worded it right.

_If I were to take a guess, I would say I hadn't._

"…Chip?"

"I'm trying to think of some sort of response to that. With almost anything I say, you'll find some way to counter it…"

_Yikes._

"I…didn't exactly mean to dump that all out on you; I'm sorry, really-"

"Sonic, do you remember the first day we spent together?" Chip asked, his back facing me. I nodded, even though he couldn't see it.

"Of course, Chip. It was one of the best days of my life! How could I forget that?"

"Later that night, you discovered that when night fell, you'd transform back into a Werehog. And despite that, you were still willing to help me, and still willing to find a way to save the world. But as the adventure went on, you slowly began to realize that you were facing something completely new…" he whirled back around so quickly, it made me jump. "You never gave up so easily before…why choose now to be this way? We're so close!"

I leapt over a spout of fire and jumped off the conveyer belt onto solid ground. The very moment I did, more monsters sprung up from the ground. Once again, it was merely Frights and a Master, but this time the Master was a Fire Master. Fighting off the Frights surrounding me, I slowly made my way towards a water barrel. The Master constantly threw fire at me, which I counter by throwing Frights. They succumbed to the flames without a fight, making my job a lot easier. Once there were no more Pests surrounding me, I rushed over to the barrel and picked it up, just as the Flame Master began to conjure up another attack. I retaliated by throwing the barrel and dousing out its source of power.

_And things just heated up from there._

While I was in the middle of attacking the Flame Master as fast as I could, I found my fur suddenly set ablaze, forcing me to propel myself away from the witch and run for another barrel of water. Luckily, I made it before all my fur was charred right off. Looking over my shoulder, a second Flame Master was assisting the first from off the ground. Snarling, I chucked a barrel at both of them, followed by charging at them full force. I collided into them at a rather high speed (especially for a Werehog), knocking all three of us back to the ground. All the while, I was kicking and punching at any part of the Master I could get to. They received kicks to the head, punches in the face, jabs in the sides, and scratches on the arms.

Eventually, the first Flame Master went down in ashes, enraging the second one greatly. Its flames grew even brighter as a blast of fire came spiraling in my direction. I rolled out of the way quickly, stretching my arm out to reach for more water. The Flame Master attacked my arm, causing me to reel back.

"I guess I need to do this the old fashion way," I stated, running back to the water barrels. The Flame Master flew after me, hoping to beat me there. Snickering, I leapt forward and made a perfecting landing next to the barrel.

"Even as a Werehog, you still can't beat the fastest thing alive!" I exclaimed, grabbing the barrel and plunging the barrel into the Master just as flew up. Its flames sizzled to smoke, and the Flame Master quickly dispersed into a dark aura afterwards. Once it disappeared completely, Chip returned, looking slightly impatient. I blinked.

"…are you mad at me now?"

"No," he said simply. "I just need an answer to my question before we were so rudely interrupted."

I sighed, starting to walk onward. Might as well make some progress as I explained myself. "…it's not as bad as I make it sound, I suppose… even the best fall down sometimes, but as long as I get back up, I'll be fine…"

"And to me it feels like you've been falling and getting back up quite a lot," Chip said, shaking his head.

"That's the bad part of all this. Sure, maybe I've been a little hard on my night form itself, but when it's gone, I won't be so conflicted anymore! I think one thing, I think another, I find myself going crazy one moment, and then I'm perfectly fine the next! …am I insecure?"

Chip shrugged. "I dunno, maybe. That's a question for Pickle, not me."

"Ha, he diagnosed it as stress last time."

"That's what it was, wasn't it?"

"…yeah, so? I wanna know why I can take on anything while at the same time, I feel completely helpless…" I moaned. "I can't even describe it to myself, so use that and see it as you will…"

"I know it hurts, Sonic, and I understand that all this time, you've been feeling so torn…" Chip began slowly. "You just need to move on, that's all. That's something you would do, right?

I stared hard at the ground. "I don't even really want to talk about this because I don't know what I'm supposed to say…and I'm probably annoying you with all my psychological problems and whatnot."

"Nah, it's fine! Listening to you talk a lot takes off the frightening edge that nighttime seems to have! Keep talking so I don't have to worry about any more monsters or dangers that are coming up!"

_Nice to know someone gets something good out of my issues!_

"Well," I started, standing a little straighter. "There's really nothing I can do…though I probably shouldn't waste any more time with what's going on in my head."

"Considering who know what goes on in there already," Chip joked lightly. I smiled and gave him a light shove.

"Oh yeah? Well, at least there isn't one definite thing on my mind."

"And what is exactly on my mind, hm?"

"Chocolate."

And with that, I grabbed a nearby water barrel that I figured I would need and started to dash over another conveyer belt. It took Chip a mere few seconds to register everything before he started flying after me.

"_Sonic!_ That is SO not what's ALWAYS on my mind!"

"Well, that's my final answer!" I laughed, still trying to get away. I quickly found out that I couldn't run against the conveyer belt with the water, so I threw the water down and bolted. On the other side was a fire wall that needed dousing, along with a big green button. Chip's minor fury disappeared quickly, as he was now distracted by the fire wall.

"Great, how can you get the barrel over here now?"

"Like this?" I suggested, stepping on the button and changing the direction of the conveyer belt.

"…yeah, I suppose that would work."

I hurried back over to the other side, picked up the barrel, and brought it back across. It was much easier this time, since I only needed to stand and let the belt do the rest. When I returned, I threw the barrel and the fire and cleansed the path of the fire, allowing Chip and I to pass.

Beyond that was another series of conveyer belts, which I rode silently. Apparently because I was silent, Chip started to take intricate notes of the surroundings.

"I just realized there it's a lot of lava and machinery down here…and it's only the second level…"

"This is where Eggman makes his robots," I explained. "I can tell because this is where all the parts are crafted."

"Really?" Chip breathed, taking another look. "Wh-what robot do you think he has for us next?"

"Hey, we went over this, it can't be anything that bad," I pointed out. "Besides, it's nighttime, and I bet he'd rather get some ungodly monster to do his bidding rather than do it himself…"

_Trust me, I would know._

"Mmmm…for some reason, that still doesn't make me feel better."

"You know the drill, Chip! We're bound to encounter either a giant killer robot or some monster! Don't worry about Eggman- worry about how worse the monsters I have to face can get!"

"I'll try…"

"Good," I finished, just as I noticed the conveyer belt reaching its end. Stepping off, I really wasn't surprised to see that I was being ambushed. Even more Frights and a Cure Master, but I wouldn't put aside the thought of a Titan or Big Mother showing up later on.

_If one didn't, then THAT would be the surprise._

I ran into battle, eager to get it all over with. I reached out for a metal crate and swung it around.

"Too bad there's no Bees," I chuckled, knocking out several Frights in one swoop. A few managed to withstand the crate-whacking and jumped at me like a hungry pack of piranhas. I smacked most of them away, then turned around and went for the Cure Master. I got to it just in time, considering it was surrounded by its healing spell, and any Frights within range were being healed too.

"Knock that off!"

The witch and I tumbled to the ground in a fit of fury. We wrestled each other all across the floor, rolling dangerously close to the edge. I cringed, seeing how close to death I was, and heaved the Master right off of me. It landed on two Frights, taking them out, but then it teleported out of my sight. I just scoffed and took care of any Frights I had missed.

"Fine, go and hide, coward!"

However, just as I finished off the last Fright, something blunt hit me on the back of head, and everything went out of control for a few moments. When my senses unscrewed themselves, I realized that the Master was hovering over me, staff pointed downward at my chest. I chuckled.

"Heh, at least you know how to make a comeback!"

I brought my leg up in a flash, sending the Cure Master skyrocketing. When it came back down, I was back on my feet and socking it in the stomach. The Master went toppling through the air, only to be stopped by the wall. It slid to the ground, weakened, and glanced up at me. It made one last feeble attempt to attack me, but one final punch was all it took to defeat it.

"Excellent, as always, Sonic!"

I winked. "In that case, there's no need to mention it!"

After chuckling at the face Chip gave me, I began to latch onto pegs that protruded out of the wall and made my way up. After all, it was the only way to go. Chip flew up ahead of me, and by his excited squeal, I had the feeling that the Goal Ring was at the top. I finally managed to pull myself up over the ledge, getting to witness Chip flying excitedly around the Goal Ring.

"The thought of robot factory is terrifying, but overall, this part was pretty easy!"

"Yeah, unless you count my outburst, which automatically makes things even more difficult…"

"Just be glad there was nothing that lives up to the name of "Eggmanland" in this area."

I shrugged. "Yeah, but now we have to go beyond the factory into Level 3...and it can only get worse from here on out."

"Oooh…I thought you were a positive guy!"

"I am," I assured, walking through the Ring. "I could be acting a lot worse if I was just the opposite."

_If I was a pessimist, I'd say thing such as: "We're going to die!" "This can't get any better, can it?" and "Maria!"_

. . .

Chip and I went through the hall behind the Goal Ring, staying alert and on the look out for anything. Chip was more paranoid than I was, plainly, as he was flittering from one spot to the next within seconds. When we reached the end of the passageway, he nearly paled.

"Oh boy…"

"It's not that bad, Chip!"

Sure, there was a pole surrounded by spikes that I needed to descend down, but just because there was an ominous background, that didn't mean anything bad was going to happen!

_If anything, it seemed like one of the safer parts of Eggmanland._

Just to prove to Chip that there was nothing to worry about, I began the venture beyond the factory. Although, I think my pole-jumping efforts were futile, considering he was more intently focused on the gears churning and the steam filling the air around us.

"Urgh, Sonic, I really don't like this place…"

"I know- you've only told me about five times!"

"I know, but the deeper we go, the more…apprehensive I feel, and I really don't think that's a good thing…"

"What else can we do?" I asked, landing on a platform not too far off. "This whole place is built on top of the shrine, like you said, so this is the only way to get to it!"

Chip looked perplexed after that, also acting as if he was dying to say something, but to my surprise he reminded silent. Not wanting to press the issue farther, I just focused on the task ahead. Blocks were jetting out of the wall in a systematic pace, with the occasional enemy lurking here and there to ambush me.

"One wrong move and I'm going over the edge…" I muttered to myself.

Though overall it wasn't too bad. I managed to take out the enemies with well-placed kicks, all while jumping in-between the blocks. It wasn't until I rounded the corner did things get a bit more interesting.

I descended downwards, leaping onto a moving block and quickly rushing over to the other side. I jumped off, grabbed a pole, climbed up, and jumped again. I grabbed a bar above my head, swung myself over a gap, and latched onto the edge of a platform. I pulled myself up and surveyed my surroundings.

"Nothing out of the ordinary here…"

_But boy, it was starting to get hot again._

Slightly panting, I followed the path of the walkway and descended deeper into Eggmanland. I didn't dare mention to Chip that it was beginning to get darker again, especially since I was pretty sure he knew it.

The only light in the area highlighted where I would probably head next- on a mad array of poles hanging down from up above, and all of them were dressed in antagonizing spikes. It made me a little uneasy while Chip was now gripping my arm.

"You know I'm going to need that, right?" I asked, lightly shaking him off. "Besides, you're lucky. You can just fly across!"

"Yeah, but who wants to fly around in the dark while maneuvering around poles of doom?"

"Okay first, they are not poles of doom, and second, I'd rather do that than have to stretch and leap my way over what's potentially a bottomless pit."

I jumped off the edge of the walkway and grabbed the first pole, Chip thinking over what I said before following after. I was climbed up and down, jumping back and forth, and working my way around the mess of poles scattered everywhere. The spikes on the poles definitely hindered my progress, but I was kind of glad they were there- they assured that I would be extra careful.

_And I hate being careful._

Once I worked my way around the pole, I released myself from the final one and gripped a bar not too far away. I huffed, now swinging back and forth like a pendulum. I swung myself over to a Dark Bat, which carried me over to the next area I would get to navigate. I ran in front of moving blocks, just barely missing shoved off the edge, followed by stumbling right into a battle.

_And for once, I was grateful for one._

"Who' s head am I smashing in this time?" I questioned, eyes darting around as the monsters emerged into existence. Six Red nightmares and two Dark Bat Thunders answered my question, all eight of them instantly going on the offensive. I jumped up to dodge them all, then landed a good distance away.

"That's it? Heh, this'll be a cinch!"

Chip just sighed. "You know something happens when you get overconfident…"

"Overconfident?" I echoed, tossing two of the nightmares into three more. "I'm just stating the truth!"

"Well, I know you can do it-" a ball of plasma shot over Chip's head. "-but still, you can't just assume an outcome! You never know what to anticipate!"

I ran over to the Thunders, dispatching one and grabbing the other to use to my advantage. I fired three lightning balls at three Nightmares, briefly paralyzing them. After that, I tossed the Thunder over my shoulder and tripped a Nightmare, causing it to fall forward into the shocking Nightmares. All four of the started to squeal amid their torture, and the other two rushed over to help. This was just as I was expecting, thus I charged into the oncoming two and tackled them into the wall.

"Impressive, if I do say so myself!" I chuckled, now focusing my attention on the recovering Nightmares. They all snarled at me and spread out to surround me, preventing me from making any sort of escape.

"Hmph, do you really think a circle is going to stop me?" I laughed, standing casually and waiting for them to strike. The four of them advanced, and I promptly jumped, allowing them to all collide. I them brought my fists together and crashed down on all of them all once, doing quite a bit of damage.

_Works every time!_

Two of the Nightmares fell, but the remaining two still had a bit of fight left in them. They continuously tried to swat at me, but I ducked and dodged their swings with relative ease. Eventually I tired of the pointless attacks and lured them towards the edge, where a single kick sent them both tumbling to their doom.

"And you thought something would go wrong," I scoffed to Chip as the force fields went down. "You must not trust me enough!"

"I do trust you, Sonic!" exclaimed Chip, taken aback. "I've trusted you this entire trip! I just worry too much, I suppose…but can you really blame me?"

"'Course not, Chip. But, being me, I think it's in your best interest to lighten up just a little. You're already a spunky little guy- a little less worrying and you'll be set!"

Chip suddenly beamed. "You mean that?"

"I'm not known to lie, Chip."

Chip's grin grew broader as I continued on. The hall that led out of the previous area was lit by a soft bluish-green light, which both Chip and I stared at in awe. As pretty as it was, it still had an eerie sort of flair to it. Chip apparently didn't get the creepy like I did, because he was still beaming at his compliment. I smiled slightly myself as I hunted for a way to open the door at the end of the hall, not stopping until I found a green button. Gently stepping on it, the door at the end of the hall flew open, and we could proceed once again.

Beyond the door was another walkway, segregated into several platforms. It was easy enough to jump from platform the platform- the only added challenge was the spike balls hovering around that I maneuver around.

_Oh yeah, and the giant block that was set to shove me right off the edge._

So there I was, speeding over gaps, trying to outrun the giant block and avoid being hit by a spike ball. When I reached the end of the walkway, I found two doors, and not knowing which one to open, I choose the first. It took quite a bit of my strength to heave it open, and when I finally did, I was greeted by nothing.

"Aw, great!"

Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed that the giant block was closing in on me rather quickly. Exiting the first room, I hurried to second door and struggled to get that one open. I could see the giant block getting closer out of the corner of my eye, and it was definitely unnerving me. I finally managed to throw the door open, and just as the block brushed against my fur, I bolted on through the door.

"Whew, that was close…"

"I'll say!" added Chip, who was pointing up ahead. I turned in that direction, turned the corner, and found the Goal Ring waiting for me.

_And I suppose there really was no going back, since that giant block was guarding the other way out._

"See, Sonic?" Chip asked, nudging my shoulder. I turned to him, looking curious. "You just proved that you can get through anything, even if you feel like you can't!"

"I guess I did."

"C'mon, be more enthusiastic about it! I bet that this will make you a better person!"

I grinned. "As if I can get any better!"

"You know what I mean," Chip huffed in mock frustration, taking a seat on the top of my head. "Now, I need a promise, because I know you never break your promises…"

"Sure, Chip…what is it?"

I could tell he was hesitating slightly, but he finally said; "I need you to promise to put this all in the past. All the bad feelings, all the hatred…all of that. If you even start feeling that way again, just think of all the good times…about Apotos…about the day in Spagonia, or Holoska…think about our downtime in Adabat…"

"Basically all the times when my mood was at its best?" I interrupted. Chip paused, then nodded.

"…Yeah. And if you need some help remembering…" he pulled out his camera and handed it down to me. "Just take a look at our scrapbook!"

I stared at his camera for a few moments before reaching up and taking it from him.

"I promise, Chip."

Chip smiled, knowing that I meant it, then returned to getting comfortable on my head.

"In all honesty though, Sonic…I think you just need to think things over. I mean, everything has to sort itself out eventually, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah…you're right. I'll honestly try…if I haven't been already."

Chip cracked a smile. "Well, if you were, you wouldn't be contemplating now, would you?"

"Oh hush," I chuckled back, bounding through the Goal Ring.

_Who knew what was ahead of us next? It probably wasn't anything pleasant, but whatever it was, there was no giving up now…_

* * *

**And there's the first half of the Wii version's night stages! I personally like the second half, but that's just me...this chapter was posted later than I would have liked, but I was a little busy lately. ^^;**


	45. For the Very Last Time

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Chip and I were pretty quiet as we entered Level Four, and I was wondering just how far down we were. Level Four was _much_ colder than Level Three, surprisingly, and I had no idea what to expect from Level Five.

_Even more surprisingly, I was in no rush to find out._

Chip seemed to be thinking very deeply about something, and as always, I didn't want to disturb him, so I poked around the room, trying to figure out what to do. It wasn't until I looked over the edge that I found out.

"Whoa…"

_Button. Elevator. Iron Crate. Fire. You'd think the answer to the problem would be obvious, but I sort of figured out what to do by accident…_

I slipped and fell, hit the button, landed beside the crate, and when the elevator descended, I was completely safe from the fire that was spewing out of the wall.

"…see, I'm so clever, I didn't even need to think about that one!"

I glanced at Chip, as I was hoping to provoke some sort of response out of him, but it was to no avail. I sighed and waited for the elevator to reach its destination. I did have to hop over to the other side of the crate and the on top of it to avoid more fire, but nothing too significant. I stepped off the elevator, only to step onto a moving platform with another metal crate.

"I get the feeling I'll be using these things a lot…" I mused, lifting the crate up over my head. Up ahead, fire was coming down from above, but since I was under the crate, it was completely harmless.

After reaching the other side, I set the crate down and took off down the next hallway. Only a few Red Nightmares were there to greet me, so the welcoming party wasn't going to last long.

I performed an uppercut on one, kicked another in the face several times, and tossed the last one over the edge like it was nothing. However, when I was finishing dealing with those, I noticed that three Dark Bat Thunders were on the scene as well, and all three of them were charging blasts to hit me with. I rolled away from the projectiles quickly, and then brought them all down with two slashes of my claws.

Beyond where the force field once resided was another green neon-lit hall, which curved its way deeper in the complex. Although, there were a few differences…one being the fact there was a Light Barrier at the end, and the other being that the only way to get to the other side was via a fast-moving platform.

"I'll take it!" I exclaimed, setting foot on the platform and lurching back when it took off. "I still have to look for three light keys, but eh, that's not too bad."

The first platform stopped and took me to another, which I transferred myself to. I braced myself as the second platform took off. It abruptly came to another stop at a pole, which was by another platform that briskly ventured away. I latched onto the pole, awaited the return of the third platform, and then jumped on it before it bolted again. It took me to the far wall, which was lined with pegs and spikes that I would unfortunately have to navigate.

Grabbing the first peg, I swung myself over the first patch of spikes and gripped the second peg. By the time I reached the third peg, a platform appeared below me. Dropping onto that, I allowed it to take me where I needed to go next.

Luckily, the first of the Light Keys was right next to where I ended up, so I snagged it and carried on. Up ahead, I slid down a pole, then let go and grabbed a peg. Working myself all the way to the left, I found a secret platform that held the second Light Key.

"Well, this is awfully easy," I said to myself, juggling the Light Keys around. "It's almost disappointing!"

I snuck another look at Chip- once again, no response. He had his back turned away from me, so I couldn't really tell what he was doing, or thinking at that.

_One thing I knew for sure is that it was starting to worry me._

"Chip? Is something up?" I asked, speaking directly to him since we entered the fourth level.

He snapped out of his thoughts and whirled around to face me, replying with a quick "Huh?"

"You've been awfully quiet so far…I mean, I've been in several life threatening situations and you haven't even gave me a word of warning!"

Chip shrugged. "W-Well, you told me to worry less, so I am!"

I gave him a skeptical look. "That's not all there is to it, is there?"

"What do you mean?"

Now it was my turn to shrug as I made my way back to the next platform. "Not only have you not been giving me the occasional words of warning, you haven't really talked to me either. You ARE the one that said listening to me helped make the trips through dangerous places a lot more bearable…"

"Yeah…I DID say that…but, um, I guess there's just not much to say."

I was dying to respond to THAT one, but right then my attention needed to be focused on not falling off a pole. Chip seemed relieved to get off the topic and floated a small distance away so I couldn't strike up another conversation. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I intently continued to jump from pole to pole until I finally reached the other side.

_If he didn't want to talk, then who was I to make him unhappy?_

A Dark Bat assisted me to the next ledge, and when I pulled myself off, I located the Light Barrier blocking the way out. Seeing only two parts of the intricate design lit up, I recalled that I still had one more to find.

_It only took me a few seconds to find it on the right side of the Barrier, however._

Once I collected the third one, the third part of the design lit up, and the Light Barrier dispersed instantly. Smiling to myself, I walked through the doorway, prepared for anything that might decide to jump out at me at the last moment.

"…wait a second…"

_I had walked right into another giant, round elevator._

So, there was more battling on the horizon. I wasn't too upset about that actually, considering how simple collecting the Light Keys was. When the elevator stopped, a few monsters materialized just as I predicted. The only thing was, they were nothing more than a few Red Rexes, who still rang true in my mind as nothing but Pests. I swatted at them as they started to swarm me, turning them into puffs of smoke within moments. Three Dark Bat Thunders appeared on the scene after that, but they weren't much to deal with either.

The faster I made my way through Eggman's defenses, the faster I came to realize we were getting closer to the end.

_It was so hard to believe it was all almost over. It hit me out of the blue, like the metal pipe that fell from nowhere, and they both certainly left an impact._

At the bottom of this base was the shrine, where Chip and I would place the last Chaos Emerald, and then boom- planet saved. Regardless of whether I'd have to face Eggman (or even possibly Dark Gaia) before then was completely irreverent, because it was all almost over.

_It seemed like only yesterday I had awoken in the fields of Apotos…it seemed like I had just been trapped in that painful trap Eggman whipped up for me…Sheesh, it didn't even seem like a long time since I first brought down Eggman's space fleet before all of this even began!_

"Talk about overwhelming…" I muttered quietly as the elevator started to descend again. There was still so much to think about- what would happen after this? Would I really get rid of my Werehog form? Would the planet really be saved?

_And then I thought about what would happen to Chip again._

I felt like something smacked me in the face- and this time, it was all in my head, but it felt real all the same. I turned to Chip, still floating a short distance away. He wasn't completely turned away from me, so I could see part of his face and both of his eyes…and let me tell you, they weren't full of the spunk I claimed they had.

"Chip…?" I trailed, unsure as to how I should approach what was on my mind. Chip gave me his full attention, though didn't make a sound. I tried to gather up _some_ words to say, but they fell short when a Big Mother literally landed on me. As I was being crushed under a ton of weight, she created a miniature army to try and take me out. It was only Rexes she created, and even the Big Mother herself wouldn't be too much of a hassle at this point. I placed my hands on the ground and got my feet stable, and then I proceeded to push up.

The Big Mother was awfully surprised to feel herself ascend off the ground, and tried to look past her large belly to figure out just what was going on. Before she even got _that_ far, I let out a loud growl and flung her right off my back. Chip yelped and flew out of the way as the giant blob of a monster went toppling through the air and smacked into the opposite wall. The rexes all started chirping, worried about their "mother", but it was just unfortunate that she turned out fine, minus a chunk of her health being depleted.

As I tried to sturdy myself on my feet, the Big Mother managed to get back on hers and hiss at me. She jumped up and slammed into the ground, sending out a massive shockwave. I wasn't able to dodge, and sure enough, a bunch of electricity jolted through my body.

"Wow, and I thought I bounced back…" I grunted, picking myself up once again. She sent out another shockwave, but I was ready for it this time. Not only did I jump up to dodge it, but I aimed my foot at the Big Mother's head and sent her off kilter once more. She collided with the wall again, giving me a chance to grab her arm and throw her against the floor. She crushed several of the Rexes in the process, which was a bonus for me.

"I'd love to wrestle with you a little more, but saving the world is sort of my top priority right now."

And with that, I heaved the Big Mother up over my head, spun around several times, and gave her a hearty toss. She let out a mighty wail as she flew to her doom, slumping against the wall and turning into purple smoke. I was actually quite pleased with my work, but what really made me beam was Chip flying over to me in a state of awe.

"Wow Sonic, I know I've said you were strong before, but you took down a Big Mother like it was nothing-and you weren't even unleashed! You've really come a long way!"

"I guess you're right Chip," I chuckled, staring at my arms. "As much as I hate to admit it, I sort of like fighting in my Werehog body now. I suppose it has a few advantages…but I like the good points of my true blue form more."

The elevator began to descend again, not stopping until we reached the very bottom. Chip and I exchanged glances as we exited the elevator- right in front of us was the Goal Ring.

"To think, there's most likely only one of these left to go…" I trailed. "It's kind of reassuring!"

"And, uh, speaking of that, Sonic…" Chip began slowly. "What were you going to say to me before you were crushed by that Big Mother?"

_Reassurance gone._

My words became trapped in my throat as I tried to explain. After battling with myself for a few minutes, I finally managed to get it out.

"Chip…what'll happen to you when the planet's all put back together?"

_Just the response I was anticipating- silence._

I waited patiently for Chip's answer as I made my way toward the Goal Ring- only one area left before we reached the Shrine! I was almost ready to jump through the ring to get it over with, but Chip stopped me.

"Remember how I told you that Dark Gaia and I sleep beneath the planet for ages and ages, only waking up every million or so years to battle, and then fall back asleep again?"

"Yes, I do."

Chip sighed and gave a half-effort shrug. "Basically after this, I'll go back to sleep again so I can wake up in another eon to fight Dark Gaia again. I…that's what's been on my mind actually…I didn't want to bring it up because I thought it was rather obvious…uh, Sonic?"

_Picturing how Chip and I would separate (and before, it was IF we separated) was still very fuzzy, but I definitely had a better idea of it now._

. . .

Now_ I_ was the silent one as I led Chip down into what Eggman dubbed the "Dark Gaia Caldron", also known as the fifth and final level of Eggmanland. I assumed it was named that because _this_ was where he harnessed all the Dark Gaia energy he ranted about.

Steam rose in clouds from the floor, everything was wrapped in metal, and every little sound reverberated throughout the depressing hallway. Only a few dim lights brightened the way, giving the hall an even more downcast aura.

_And let me tell you, it certainly didn't help my mood._

Chip wasn't sure of how to console me, considering what he had spoken of was the truth. Once the planet was put back together and Dark Gaia was vanquished, he was going to have to "go back to sleep". I couldn't imagine what was worse- being forced to do the same thing every moment of your life, with the times in-between spent being wasted away by sleep…or being separated from the first true friend that you've ever had, destined to never see them again? I didn't think Chip had even given the topic this much thought, and I thought it was bringing me down more than it was Chip. I felt so bad for him, and yet I doubted he even realized how expansive the situation had gotten.

I tore through a huge metal door, shredding it into bits in record time. It was designed to keep me out of the Level 5, along with several doors after it, but at this point there was nothing I couldn't break through.

_Especially when my strength was charged by all the negative emotions in my mind._

Another door was brought down with an ear-splitting boom, making Chip jump in midair.

"Doors are the lowest form of security," I said to no one in particular, smashing a few crates lined up against the walls. Once I was finished tearing things up, I came to a pole placed at the end of the hall.

_I was wrong to think it would lead to another depressing room._

If I thought Level 3 was hot, I hadn't seen anything yet! Even as I descended down the pole, I had flames flaring to reach my fur and set me ablaze!

"I don't even feel like making some sort of fire pun…" I huffed, gasping for air in the arid room, as the fires scattered everywhere were making things very dry. To make things worse, two Flame Masters were born out of the fires, along with Dark Bat Thunders lurking in the highest reaches of the room.

"I hate when I have to fight in such bad conditions…" I panted, making my way over to a barrel of water.

_Do you know what it's like to be locked in a sauna? Take that experience and apply it to mine._

I heaved the barrel of water at the two witches, hitting them both and draining them of their power source. I started to attack one, but a blast from a Thunder knocked me away and ruined everything. As I tumbled away from the witches, they regained their power, and the other Thunders took aim at me as well.

I back flipped out of the way of three other balls of lightning, followed by diving under two blasts of fire. Top all that off with the fact I could hardly breathe, and that sums up all that went on in that one single moment.

"Aw man…" Chip moaned, watching me struggle to simply crawl along the floor. I felt the Flame Masters hover toward me, ready to strike me down in flames. Right before I became barbeque, I dug my fingers underneath another barrel and hurled it behind me. The Masters screeched as they were drenched again, once more vulnerable. I jumped up from the floor and repeatedly kicked one in the head, doing enough damage to cause it to fall defeated. However, the other one regained its powers and used them to knock me away.

I skidded across the floor, daring the Flame Master to make another move. It just floated a safe distance away from me, pointing its staff at me and telling the Thunders to attack. Next thing I knew, I had four spheres of lightning coming in my direction. Only one of them managed to hit me, but one was apparently enough.

"I bet…you think…you're really clever…" I grumbled, lying back on the grabbing my arm. The Flame Master said nothing, as expected, and simply raised his arm to cast another attack upon me. I didn't move; I just smirked.

"Take this, you jerk!" Chip yelled, kicking over a third barrel of water. The witch turned in his direction, only to be plowed over by said barrel. It broke upon contact, and the witch couldn't move once again.

"Now who's the clever one?" I smirked, grabbing the Flame Master and spinning it around the room.

"Yeah, go Sonic!" Chip cheered, knocking over another barrel in his excitement. I let go of the witch, then grabbing it again and slamming it into the ground. It gave one last attempt to fight back, but it collapsed before it could do anything to me. I was looking a little proud of myself until Chip reminded me that there were still four Dark Bat Thunders that needed taking care of. Not wasting any more time, I jumped up to the higher ledges of the room and put all the Thunders out of commission.

"Sonic, you're a TANK! That was totally- uh, Sonic…?"

I instantly leapt off the ledge, ran over to the nearest water barrel, and dunked my head right into it. It was only a few mere seconds before I pulled my head out and shouted, "What in the world was I thinking? !"

"What were you trying to do? !"

"My mouth was dry…but what in the world possessed me to dunk my head into a barrel of ungodly water? !"

"Um…survival instincts?"

_If that was the case, survival instincts suck._

"Anyway…" I grunted, shaking all the water out of my quills. "How's about we get out of here?"

"Sounds good to me," Chip compiled instantly, already making tracks for the way out. I followed him into the hallways that took us down to a factory area of sorts.

"Whoa…"

"Is this really where Eggman is extracting the energy from Dark Gaia…?" Chip questioned, gazing around the expansive room.

"No, I think those operations are down farther," I estimated while grabbing onto a pole. "I'd say this place is for distributing it all."

"Sonic, why does Eggman enjoy having lava oozing all over the floor of his own fortress?"

"For his own sick, twisted pleasures, I suppose…" I responded while climbing up. I never knew why Eggman had such a fetish with fire (and lasers at that), but something told me that I didn't really want to know.

Once I reached the top, Chip and I took off down the walkways, avoiding falling off and running past giant generators. Eventually we ended up on a giant platform crawling with Red Nightmares, and we were trapped inside a purple force field.

"Yeah, I definitely won't be missing those," I commented, kicking one Nightmare while punching another. There were six Nightmares total, but that number quickly diminished to zero when they all approached me. I also took down another Dark Bat Thunder, with me mentally complaining about how common they were lately.

_Not that I'd have much longer to worry about them…_

After beating up everything in sight, a Dark Bat appeared and offered me a ride to the next area. I latched onto it, and then allowed it to carry me over the large gap below. Once on the other side, I disdainfully noticed another Dark Bat Thunder out of the corner of my eye, but I sort of had bigger problems in front of me…

"You think you can take out that red Titan as fast as you took down that Big Mother?" Chip asked, hovering over my shoulder.

"Yeah, no problem," I said, closing my eyes and beginning to glow blue. "…but a little extra assurance would never hurt anybody."

I charged forward in all my unleashed glory, ready to show the red Titan who was boss. It quickly noticed me and swung its mighty club, but I veered to the right and plowed into the Titan's side. I forced it to balance on only one foot, opening a hole in its defenses. Acting quickly, I brought my fists together and slammed them into the stomach of the Titan. It fell onto its back after that, but it was given no mercy.

"Sorry pal- I've got nothing against ya, I just gotta beat you up."

I pounded into the Titan again, followed by backing off and grabbing the Dark Bat Thunder. I provoked it, causing it to take aim at me and fire. I simply took a step to the left and allowed the sparking projectile to strike the Titan. It roared in pain upon being shocked, and with hardly any health to begin with, it dispersed into purple particles and disappeared. Once he was taken care of, I punched the Thunder and got rid of him as well.

My blue glow disappeared as well, leaving me with my normal fighting ability. Chip applauded me as usual.

"Is there anything you can't do? ! Wow!" he exclaimed.

_Swim and fly- right off the top of my head._

I just replied to Chip with a coy smile and continued onward. Another Bat had appeared to take me over the next gap. I did just what I did before and landed on the next platform. I stalked down the walkways with Chip glued to my side, the two of us cautiously turning corners and awaiting the danger that lurked around them. Of course, I was more obsessed with my thoughts than honing my spy skills, so when I nearly walked right off the edge, you can imagine my surprise when Chip grabbed my shoulders and yanked me back.

"NAAAAARGH!"

"Sorry! You weren't paying attention! Who nearly walks over a fenced area?"

"Well…I had important matters on my mind," I countered, walking away from the incident and sliding down a pole.

"What sort of important matters?" Chip asked, following me to an even lower area.

"Do you really want to know?"

"…yes."

I sighed and pulled myself onto an upper platform. Chip looked at me expectantly, but I was struggling with whether or not I should mention my thoughts. After all, it would probably lead to another pyschology session, if previous experiences were anything to go by.

"…maybe I'll bring it up later. This really isn't the place for idle chat…"

_To my surprise, Chip was cool with it._

"Okay then!"

I took a breath of relief as I inched my way along the wall. It was true- I really didn't want to talk when I needed to focus on not getting impaled by spikes, blasted by fire, or falling off a very skinny ledge.

"C'mon, Sonic…you've scaled cliffs before; a wall should be a cinch!"

Making my way over to the other side at a speed that shouldn't be possible, I repelled away from the wall and suddenly found myself dangling from a peg. From there, I went from peg to peg, working my way along a new wall. When I thought I reached the end, I let go, only to discover that there was no footing beneath me.

"Argh! What the heck? !"

"Sonic! Pole! Quick!"

Responding to Chip's command, I reached upwards and latched onto the first thing my fingers brushed against. Glancing up, it turns out there was a pole above me.

"Wow, nice call Chip."

"Hey, I'm there when you need me," Chip responded with a grin.

I smirked. "And I am just the same."

I then started climbing up the pole to get to safer ground, jumping from one to another to reach some footing again. It was a mad process of jumping, gripping, and sliding, but eventually Chip and I worked our way around to a place where I could take a break.

"Whew…this place is a bit tricky, but still not a bad as what I thought it'd be…"

"Who are you trying to kid? This place is demented!" Chip wailed.

"Ahem? Who is the one that's nearly died in this place on more than one occasion?"

"Well, you, but still! Anyone that's not you wouldn't be able to last even a minute in Eggmanland!"

"I guess not…and by looking at where we are now, you would have never guessed that we're in the middle of an amusement park."

I stood back up and stalked off once again. Chip was just as eager to get out of there as I was, so there were no complaints from his end. I tore down another door, and we raced down the hallway beyond it. Everything was going rather uneventfully until Chip suddenly shouted,

"Sonic! The Goal Ring's up ahead!"

"WHAT! ?"

Sure enough, perched high in a small alcove was none other than the Goal Ring. Naturally, this was not going to be as easy as it seemed, so I braked to a stop and kept Chip close behind me. The Goal Ring was bound to be heavily guarded, and boy was I right.

Ten Red Nightmares emerged out of the ground, trying to catch me off guard with their sheer numbers. Oddly enough, that's not what fazed me. What really got to me was the fact that this was probably just the _start_ of what was to come.

"Get to fighting, Sonic!" Chip shouted just as I was struck across my head. Grabbing my newly throbbing forehead, I nodded and sprang into action.

Despite the large numbers, I didn't even need to Unleash to take them all down- their health was still relatively low. In fact, it was so simple, that I could take down two with one swing!

"One hit is all you guys will get!" I exclaimed, going crazy with my punches. Amidst my mad array of attacks, all ten of the Nightmares eventually fell to their knees.

The next wave of monsters included eight Rexes and two Lightning Masters. I cracked my knuckles and demolished the Rexes in three swoops, considering they seemed very intent on gathering around me to attack.

_Unlike the Masters that preferred to blast me while I was occupied._

Whirling around, I ran straight at a Master that took refuge behind me, fist extended. My fist missed its target, however, when the Master ducked out of the way and counter attacked. I felt several volts of electricity course through my veins, and I suppose I should be lucky that it wasn't enough to kill me.

"You're going to pay for that!" I sneered, bringing up my right fist and striking the Master than shocked me. It went skyrocketing right into the ceiling, with the other Master trying to avenge its cohort. I was ready for it, spinning around on my heels to batter it into the ground. Now helpless, I grabbed the Master and threw it at the other, which was now falling down from its ascent to the ceiling. The two Masters toppled out of the air and landed harshly on the end of my foot before being sent upwards again.

"Heh, this is kinda fun!" I exclaimed, jumping up and kicking them both into the wall. Both of them tried to send one final blast my way, but I all managed to catch was the glowers they aimed at me.

_But, strangely, they didn't disappear._

The two Lightning Masters arose from the ground, their health replenished and moving around like nothing had happened. They slowly approached me, and I was starting to get a bit nervous.

"What in the world…?"

Apparently the Masters were brought back to life by the arrival of a huge red Titan- bigger than any of the ones I faced before.

_Except for the one that had Tails trapped in Apotos._

It looked exactly like the Titans before it- just much larger, packed with more health, had more strength, and had two Lighting Masters to do its bidding. Before I could really comprehend anything, I was hit by a three way attack, between two lighting balls and the shockwave from the Titan's giant club smashing into the ground.

"Okay, you wanna be rough?" I growled, crouching low as the blue aura overtook my entire body. "Well, I'll just be rougher, how's that?"

And with that, I jumped up and stretched my arms put, swinging them like deadly wires at the Lighting Master. Each of them was smacked across the face, with double the damage taken than before. The Titan struck the ground with its club again, and I quickly leapt over the shockwave.

"That trick won't work twice, buddy!"

I ran straight at the Titan, a blur of blue going in to attack. The Masters aimed their deadly projectiles at me, but with evasive moves on my part, the electric orbs hit the Titan rather than me.

Now slightly immobile, I struck the Titan in the stomach with my foot, doing plenty of damage. It howled in pain, and I allowed it to rampage for a bit while I took care of its accomplices. The Lightning Masters quickly took note of me coming for them, so they started sending dozens of hindrances my way. I bobbed and weaved away from them all, finally able to leap up and grabbed one by the neck.

"I think you two need to get better acquainted," I stated coolly, slamming the first Master into the second. They both skidded across their ground on their backs, only to be struck again by the bottom of my feet. Unable to overcome the power of my blue aura, both Lightning Masters officially gave up and returned back from where they came from.

"And now…there's just one last thing to take care of…" I trailed, turning my attention back to the infuriated Titan. It was still blindly swinging its club around, hoping to smite me in the process.

_Unfortunately, it did manage to strike me._

I flew across the room at the speed of a bullet, flying into the metal wall with Chip swearing that I had left a dent in it. As I slowly slumped back to the floor, I felt my blue aura, my extra power, my secret strength all fade away, and I groaned.

"Great…now this is going to take longer than necessary!"

"I think you should be more focused on not dying rather than the time length!" Chip exclaimed, frantically pointing at the Titan slowly making its way over to me.

"Well, I managed to hit it once while I was unleashed…so that should help out a little."

As the club slammed into the floor once again, I lunched forward, claws extended and aimed for the Titan. It certainly wasn't expecting me to dig into its shoulder, considering it started trying to buck me off while shouting to the heavens.

"Take it easy, big guy! It can't hurt THAT much!" I yelped, hanging on for dear life. It tossed me to and fro all around the room, occasionally plowing into the wall to try and get me to let go, but I bluntly refused. As it threw its head back to roar, I seized my chance. I pulled back as hard as I could until my feet touched the floor, having the Titan bend over backwards just for me. I couldn't resist a smirk as I uttered,

"Perfect."

Chip's jaw literally dropped and I pulled back on the Titan, continuing to practically bend it out of shape. Once I was far enough, I strained to lift my arm ups, the Titan still in my grasp. It was a lot heavier than the Big Mother, therefore making it tons (no pun intended) harder to lift it over my head.

_But I did it._

"RARGH!"

Chip was screaming as he scrambled out of the way of the giant red brute flying in his direction. The Titan crashed against the wall, rapidly slamming its club onto the ground to try and get me back. Too bad for him I was already expecting that and airborne, planning my next move. Adding to my luck was that the poor monster didn't even see me coming.

"G'night, ya big brute!"

And with a seriously critical blow to the Titan's back, I had him beat.

He disappeared, the Goal Ring was accessible, and Chip was absolutely ecstatic.

"Have I ever told you that you're AMAZING? !" he cheered, unable to contain his excitement.

"Well, you MAY have mentioned it once or twice…"

"Well it's definitely true! I've seen more awesome and incredible feats with you than in my entire lifetime! And you know that's a really long time!"

"Yeah, a long time that's destined to go on forever…" I muttered under my breath. "And worse, most of the rest of time for you will be spent sleeping when you could be exploring the world like you are now."

"But Sonic, I got to see the world once, and that's good enough for me!" Chip tried to assure. "And best of all, I got to see it all with you!"

"You do know that the world changes constantly, right?" I asked. "The next time you wake up, the world will have probably received a makeover, and the time after that…and think about it! The world didn't even look like _this_ in previous times when the planet broke apart! Shoot, what I would give to see how much the world changes in such long periods of time…it'd be like walking in a different world…you have that ability, but due to your sacred duty, you can't go out and just enjoy the planet!"

"Sonic-?"

"All your time is spent defeating Dark Gaia, and when you're done? Back to sleep you go…I wish there was some way I could prevent you from having to go back…I mean, missing out on such great opportunities and being stuck in the same cycle forever can't be much fun…and wow, if Eggman hadn't been screwing with the forces of nature, I wouldn't have even gotten to know you existed!"

"Wow, you've really been contemplating this, haven't you?"

I nodded slowly, hardly able to face Chip any longer. "I guess it just stems from knowing that I'll never see you again…I've met tons of great people in the past- all friends that I've only gotten to spend time with once or twice. You're a little different, well, because…you've gone on an entire adventure with me, and you've saved me on more than one occasion, and it feels like we've been friends forever! Usually it's not hard for me to accept a goodbye, but we've grown so close…and I'm afraid to admit that I might not handle it this time…"

Chip, at first, only blinked, surprised to see such weakness from me. Though, in retrospect, it wasn't so much a weakness as it was a new experience for me, and I didn't like it.

_Kinda like my night form, eh?_

"So, maybe we weren't destined to meet, and Eggman messed up what was to be with his egotistical plans for power…" Chip began. "But I think we should just be glad we _did_ get to meet, and we_ did_ get to go on an adventure together, and we _did_ get the chance to grow close…but life goes on, and knowing you Sonic, you're going to want to go with it. You might feel a little sad now, but you'll refuse to let it last, I know it."

"How can you be so open-minded about this?" I asked, staring at Chip curiously. "I mean, you're the one that's going back into an endless cycle, while I'm the one that still has the chance to be free."

"Must be the fact I'm practically a god or something," Chip shrugged. "But regardless, it really won't be as bad as you think for me. I've done this over and over, time and time again…getting back into it isn't such a big deal for me. And who knows? Maybe the next time I wake up I'll meet someone just like you or Tails or Amy or even Professor Pickle! And I'll take pictures of everything, and eat ice cream and cucumber sandwiches, and see how much everything's changed…"

He then pulled out our scrapbook and nudged me with it, signaling to me that he wanted me to hold onto it.

"And in the worst case scenario, I'll still have my memories of my time with you to think about. Maybe my dreams from now on will be reminiscent of our time together…kind of a nice thought, huh?"

"Yeah…" I agreed, accepting the scrapbook from Chip. "To think, the reason I wanted to make the scrapbook was because I thought you'd be able to stick around and visit sometimes…but then I found out you're the Gaia of Light, you kick butt every few million years, and you sleep underground. What're the odds?"

Chip laughed lightly, thought I didn't think my semi-sarcasm was amusing.

"That's why I think the book might be better in your hands- it'll be a good reminder of what we've been through. They're memories you can recall with me even when I'm not around…You can stop and close your eyes to remember…basically what I'm trying to say is, don't forget me, Sonic."

"Ha, how could I dare to forget you?" Now it was my turn to chuckle and Chip's turn to look confused. "Because of you, I've had the best times of my life, and you've helped me get through some of the worst. I don't know what I would've done without you!"

"Okay, Sonic, you know what?" Chip questioned, suddenly looking serious. I gave him a confused look. "…this calls for chocolate!"

My eyes nearly popped out of my head as Chip broke his candy bar in two and offered me half.

"You've STILL got a stash of chocolate? !"

"No…"

"Then what's that?"

"My very last chocolate bar…" he said sadly, nibbling on the corner of his half. "It'll probably be the very last taste I get as well, so I might as well savor it with a friend."

"Wow, thanks Chip!" I took the chocolate bar and bit down on it- it seemed to taste sweeter than all the pieces he had offered me combined.

_I don't think I'll be able to look at a chocolate bar anymore without seeing Chip's face…_

"Now what do you say to finally saving the world after all this time?" I asked, gesturing towards the goal Ring. Chip threw up a fist after finishing off his chocolate bar and flying alongside me.

"All right! Let's do it!"

_And with those words, we passed through the Goal Ring and shouted together,_

"TO THE SHRINE!"

_For the very last time._


	46. Right Down to the Very Core

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

I ran as fast I could in my beastly body, struggling to reach that final Chaos Emerald pedestal. The only Chaos Emerald that hadn't been restored yet was the white one, but that was about to change momentarily.

Chip stood on the edge, as always, using the mystic power in his jade to raise the pedestal. I placed the seventh Chaos Emerald in its destined spot, and Chip and I sat back and watched the show.

"The final Chaos Emerald…" Chip breathed, as if he couldn't believe it. "Back at last!"

We exchanged a nod, followed by being thrown off balance by the last piece of the planet putting itself back in place. It was such a great feeling to know that we had done it, and another to realize that there was no more that we had to do. The day was saved, and Chip and I were in the mood to celebrate.

_However, what we didn't know was that something was about to go horribly wrong…_

. . .

We exited the shrine, exhausted from all our feats inside Eggmanland- at least, I was. I didn't know if I could say the same for Chip.

"This should put the world back to normal," Chip explained, walking alongside me rather than flying. "Dark Gaia will go back to being sealed within the core, and my work will be done!"

I stopped walking to turn around and give Chip a small smile.

"That's great!"

"Yup. Thank you, Sonic! It's _all_ thanks to you!"

We shared what was to be our final high five, letting out a vibrant "Yeah!" as we did so. It seemed everything was just as it should be, even with a heart wrenching goodbye on the horizon…

_It was just about as good as it could get._

. . .

Meanwhile, Tails was on his way back to Eggmanland to get Chip and I after discovering the seventh continent was falling back into place. He tore through the red sky in his biplane, chatting to Professor Pickle along the way.

"Oh…it DOES appear that Sonic has restored the last of the Chaos Emeralds!" Pickle exclaimed, after hearing Tails' explanation. "Things should settle down around here before long."

"That's right!" Tails agreed cheerfully. "Satellite footage confirms that the last piece is moving back into place."

Pickle gave a round of applause. "That's wonderful! I'll await your safe return, then. You can give me a full report over a plate of luscious cucumber sandwiches!"

"Uh, I'll be happy to fill you in, Professor."

And then, out of nowhere, just like that, Tails lost control of the plane.

"WAAAAAAAHH!"

He was thrashed about, gripping the steering wheel for dear life… as the Tornado ricocheted all over the sky before plummeting downwards in a nasty spiral.

_Thing was, what could've caused such a malfunction?_

. . .

As Chip and I were waiting for Tails to come fetch us in the heart of Eggmanland, a bad feeling quickly sent chills up my spine. I couldn't exactly pinpoint why, but I knew it couldn't be good.

Before I could even mention it to Chip, the ground suddenly started to quake.

"Huh?" I questioned, as the rumbling from the planet restoring itself stopped minutes ago.

"Do you feel that too?" Chip asked me. He looked around the room frantically, trying to find the source, but I already knew where it was coming from.

_The ceiling._

Shattering through thousands of wire and probably ten layers of thick steel came Eggman in his latest hotwired Egg-creation. Chip and I darted out of the way as he landed right where we once stood.

_And it looked awfully like the robot-armor he had fought me with back on his space fleet days ago…_

"Ahh ha ha ha ha!" he cackled, looking even more overjoyed than he was when he was in Mazuri, or when he first knocked me out of his base in space. "Looks like you're a bit too late, Sonic!"

"Grrr…Eggman…"

"Thanks to my wondrous technology, Dark Gaia is whole and complete! I harnessed its energy to put together this little creation. Behold, the ultra-hyper Prototype-1!"

"Ultra-hyper Prototype-1?" I gawked. "No "Egg" in the name? No reference to what it looks like? Must be even more lame than usual…"

"Are you crazy, Sonic? !" Chip yelled. "It's got a giant drill for crying out loud! And probably lasers! And missiles! Everyone knows missiles are the ultimate weapons!"

"Hmph, if you ask me, I think Egg Dragoon would be quite fitting-"

"Forget the name!" Eggman boomed. "CRUSH THEM!"

The "ultra-hyper Prototype-1" charged its massive drill spear forward, shattering the ground beneath us.

_We _really_ must've been close to the core, because magma was resting underneath that metallic floor!_

Chip and I were separated on different sections of the floor, Chip gaining a worried look on his face in the process. Before he could fly away or I could get to him, the floor dropped beneath us with the walls caving in as well.

"WAAH! SONIC!"

"WOOOAAAAH!"

Eggman and his latest creation were able to fly down safely while Chip and I were force to tumble several stories underground. Chip was falling a lot farther down than I was, and I knew I had to get to him quick. I was constantly screaming on the way down, like Chip was, but for whatever reason I didn't panic. I rode down the side of a long golden pipe, ricocheted off random pieces of metal debris, glided across the wall, and propelled myself onto the last remaining piece of the floor…that was also falling.

_And somewhere during that huge maneuver, I had managed to snag Chip._

"Oh ho ho ho ho ho!" Eggman bellowed as he took position in his robot. "This gorge will be your tomb!"

He stared down at me, eyes brimming with confidence that said he definitely had the upper hand over mine- a look that _I _usually wore.

"And best of all…I won't have to look at your smug blue face when I finally take you down, since it's clearly been replaced with a _much_ more suiting depressing grey one!"

_And that's when I realized I'd be fighting Eggman as a Werehog._

"Don't freeze up, Sonic, you can still do this…" Chip assured me, reading the look of terror that flashed across my face. "You might not have your cunning speed, but you've got your stretchy arms and outrageous strength that you've managed to adapt to!"

"I dunno, Chip…this feels so…foreign…"

"Well you really don't have a choice- it's either beat Eggman, be beaten by Eggman, or all of us get trapped at the center of the planet with no hope of escape for either you or Eggman. I'd recommending taking care of him pronto, personally."

_Well, that was a motivational pep speech. _

"Even YOU won't last long against THIS one!" Eggman boomed again, floating just beyond the battle arena. I had no idea what approach to take- I wasn't feeling cocky or arrogant enough to weaken him with insults, I wasn't quick enough to do some quick attacks in succession, and this robot was different from what he had built before, so I didn't even know what to expect.

_This can't be good, can it?_

"Take this!"

The Egg Dragoon, as I was going to call it from here on out, put its right arm forward- its right arm being nothing but a huge machine gun. I dodged several bullets as Chip scoped out the metal monstrosity for me.

"The glowing part in the middle looks awfully peculiar…aim for that, Sonic!"

"It's always the part that glows…" I sighed, glancing at the Egg Dragoon over my shoulder. "But how in the world am I supposed to reach it without having my arm drilled or shot off?"

Once the rain of bullets ceased, I ran at Eggman, hoping to get a hit on the glowing green weakness. The only problem was, the machine gun arm was now charging up an ice beam, and it fired before I could even get close to Eggman.

"How do you like THAT?" Eggman barked, aiming right at me. I cart wheeled out of the way, a few select pieces of fur being frozen on my body.

"You know you don't have to deride me every time you make a move, Eggman," I scoffed, trying to thaw out my frozen fur. "You'll run out of insults if you keep doing that!"

"I'll do as I please, thank you," Eggman sneered, taking aim at me once again.

I jumped away from another bullet onslaught, running towards Eggman while he was occupied with controlling the gun. The green weak point was practically begging for me, so I gave it a hearty whack. It only took a few good punches to cause the entire machine to malfunction, and Eggman went absolutely insane.

"You little…you little!"

"Here we go with the "little" comments again," I sighed as Eggman began to charge up another ice beam.

Eggman narrowed his eyes at me and fired his weapon. "Trust me, you'll be glad I keep my insults toward you kid appropriate, because my vocabulary can get _very_ nasty when I even _think_ of you…"

"Sheesh, no need to go into detail!" I called back, jumping away from the ice ball once again.

"You can jump and dodge all you want to Sonic…" Eggman trailed, charging up the drill arm with tons of electricity. "But it's not good enough!"

I was excepting him to drill into the floor, but what I got instead was the drill sweeping across the area, not only knocking me off my feet, but leaving me with a shock and several cuts on my ankles.

"Argh, no way…"

"Are you all right?" Chip asked, glancing down at my feet.

"Fine, Chip…" I tried to take a few steps, only to collapse instantly. "Okay, maybe not…"

"I'm such a terrible person…" Eggman mused to himself, thought he obviously said it loud enough so I could hear. "You already can't run, but now I've made it worse by preventing you from walking! Face it, Sonic, you've met your maker!"

"DAAAAH!"

This time, the ice beam hit me dead on the mark, freezing me in the process as well. The good news was that it numbed the throbbing in my legs, but the bad news…well, that was obvious.

"DIE!" shouted Eggman, charging up the Dragoon's massive machine gun once again. I wanted to scream as the blasts pierced through the ice and made harsh contact with me, but with my head still frozen, that was given impossible.

"Break free already! Please!" Chip shouted, floating on the opposite side of the floor as Eggman. I endured the rest of the bullets, then while Eggman was planning his next attack, I busted the ice from the inside out and scrambled as far away from Eggman as I could get.

"This is crazy…" I huffed, staring up at Chip. "Heal me?"

"The most I can do is rid you of the cuts on your legs…" Chip admitted. "Your energy is still going to be drained from all the attacks you've been exposed to."

"Okay then! It's gotta be better than nothing!"

I looked behind me to see what Eggman was doing- he had his drill raised high and looking for a nice spot to target me from. Gulping, I turned back to Chip, who had his eyes closed and was glowing green. After a few moments, he stopped glowing and started pointing at my legs. Sure enough, the cuts were gone and I could walk again, but I was still feeling fatigued.

"Get down here and fight, you coward!"

I yelped and ducked under the sweeping threat of the drill, and I could tell that a few slivers of fur had been sliced clean off. Standing back up, I turned to Eggman and pointed an accusing finger in his direction.

"You're calling ME a coward? You're the guy that summons every mythical demon from under the sun to do your bidding! And how many times have those plans gone right? Not ONCE!"

"Grrrr, shut up!"

"Make me!" I dared, only to receive a jet stream of bullets in response. "Who's to say that Dark Gaia's not going to turn his back on you like all the monsters before him, huh? I say cut and run while you're still ahead!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Eggman exclaimed, swatting at me with his drill.

"Well you clearly don't know when to realize that monsters are smart enough to see that you're not worthy of governing them."

"You tell him, Sonic!" cheered Chip, doing a small dance on the sidelines. Eggman, meanwhile, was so furious that his mustache was standing out on end.

"Ooooh, I'm going to blast your face off, here and now!"

"Sorry, getting my face blasted off isn't on my to do list," I replied, stretching my arm forward and hacking at the glowing green button once again. Eggman's machine refused to respond afterward, allowing me an open change to attack.

"You're going to pay for that!" Eggman maneuvered the Egg Dragoon away from me and prepared the machine gun once again. "FIRE!"

With bullets dancing around my feet, I ran around the arena like crazy, fighting the urge to turn around to attack again.

"Rgh, impossible! How could I miss?"

"Because you're fighting the fasting thing alive!" I shouted back, swooping under his drill and slamming my fist into the green button. "You've_ really_ gotta learn that already!"

"You can't even RUN!" Eggman boomed, going crazy in the cockpit. "You're nothing but a slow, sluggish, poor excuse for a living being that has decent strength and stretchable arms! You may have once been the fastest thing alive, but you're not going at supersonic speeds now, _are you_?"

"That's enough outta you!" I roared, giving the Egg Dragoon such a harsh kick it went flying away. "You're just lucky you're battling me at nighttime, otherwise this would be over already!"

Eggman up-righted the Dragoon, and I could tell he was prepared to take advantage of my anger outburst. I even _knew_ that, and yet I couldn't shut myself up.

"Maybe my night form isn't as bad as I once thought it was now that I've gotten used to it, but I _will_ return back to normal, and I AM the fastest thing alive!"

"Yeah, and Dark Gaia isn't even complete like you think because the last piece of Dark Gaia still resides in Sonic!" Chip intervened with a shocking bit of information. Both Eggman and I whirled around to face him and exclaimed the same phrase.

"WHAT? !"

"Wasn't it obvious?" Chip asked, knowing he had chosen the wrong time to speak up. "When people became depressed or insane at nighttime, it was because pieces of Dark Gaia had gotten into their hearts! When Sonic expelled the pieces from people, Eggman collected them to help form Dark Gaia! But Sonic's case is different- that piece of Dark Gaia was_ forced_ into him, which is why he _always_ transforms at night, unlike the townspeople who only change sometimes or not at all."

"You choose _now_ to tell me that vital piece of information? !" I cried, only to be smacked away by Eggman.

"You, pooch, have just been very helpful…"

Chip covered his mouth and let out a muffled gasp. "Uh oh…"

"Now I have even more reason to destroy Sonic!" the doctor yelled, taking aim at me once again. "When I do, the final piece of Dark Gaia will be removed from him, and THEN Dark Gaia will be complete and able do my bidding!"

"Chip…" I moaned, walking away from being pelted by more bullets. "…does that mean…I'll be stuck like this…forever?"

"No, that's not-"

"Of course you won't, because you won't even last forever!" Eggman interrupted loudly, smacking me with the drill this time around. I cried out in agony, Chip clenching his jade for comfort. I skidded along the floor of the area, already writhing in pain from the force of the drill. Just before I toppled over the edge, I gripped the side and meekly pulled myself up.

"Sonic, Dark Gaia can still get his piece back by force…" Chip tried to explain slowly. "He has the power to do that. But, first of all, if the planet restores itself before Dark Gaia gets the piece out of you, you'll be stuck with it forever, and Dark Gaia can't get it back until you…well…die."

"…say what? !"

"And second, if Dark Gaia DOES take his piece back from you… then the world is right back to being in deep trouble…"

"So it's basically a lose-lose situation for you, Sonic, as I see it…" Eggman interrupted once again. "What's it gonna be? Surrender, save yourself, and give Dark Gaia's piece back…or finish me off, finish saving the planet, and be cursed for the rest of your worthless life?"

"No…I can…go back to normal…and save the world…at the same time…" I gasped, the fight starting to catch up with me.

"Ah, silly, silly, simple, Sonic…" scoffed Eggman. "Trying to get the best out of everything. You think you can save everyone and still come out on top? If you stop me now and allow the last continent to place itself, you'll never be the same again…"

"That'd be a…sacrifice I'd have to take…"

"And even if you did beat me, there's still Dark Gaia…he can still get to you even before the planet's restored…what then? Defeat me for _nothing_, do all that hard work for _nothing_…you'd even be back to normal but it would mean _nothing_, since Dark Gaia and I would rule over the world…"

"Enough of this!" I demanded, standing back on my feet, though struggling. "I don't care what happens! I don't care if I'm stuck with this form forever! I don't care if Dark Gaia obeys you or not! I don't care if Dark Gaia rips his piece out of me and becomes complete- I'll fight him 'til my last breath, and then I'll die trying! You may see this as an all lose situation for me, but in my eyes, there's nothing I can do but win! I may be cursed forever, sure, but at least I'll still have a peaceful, beautiful world to live in…and so what if Dark Gaia becomes stronger? Like I said, I'll fight for what I believe in 'til the moment I drop dead, ya hear?"

"Hmph, I definitely heard you the first time," Eggman deadpanned, charging up an ice beam. "I hope you're satisfied to know that your last words were in the form of that simply heart wrenching speech."

"Not on my watch!" I howled, bolting forward and shoving both my fists into the Egg Dragoon's weak point. The ice beam Eggman was charging quickly stopped as the doctor was trying to think up what to do next. I just went crazy on the thing while Chip was unsure of how to respond to all I'd said.

"N-no! The controls won't respond!" Eggman wailed.

"Let's do this!"

I ran up to the Dragoon and latched onto its leg. Eggman, despite having little control over the Egg Dragoon, tried to shake me off, but I held on tight.

"RRGH! Out of my sight!"

He raised his drill arm high, and Chip gasped when it completely detached from the rest of the Dragoon. It came flying down towards me, but I jumped up just in time so that it completely missed me and punctured the Dragoon's weak spot.

"Waugh? ! Noooo!"

"Okay, that was pretty cool," I chuckled to myself, now freefalling. Scanning the Egg Dragoon, I now knew where to strike next. I grabbed a glowing blue button on either side of the machine, which was a very good thing since Eggman started to panic.

"h-hey! Stop! Wait- no! This is a very delicate machine!"

"Like I care!" I shouted in response, jamming my foot into the other green button while struggling to pull the two blue ones right out of their sockets. Eventually I tore them clean off and allowed them to topple to their doom.

"Now look what you've done!" Eggman shouted, scrambling around to get everything back in order again.

"I'll tear that toy of yours apart, piece by piece!"

"Blast you, Sonic!"

_That was apparently to be taken more literally than expected._

He sent the drill flying again, only for it to make a mid-air U-turn and crashing into the middle of the platform.

"Augh! The ground's breaking up!" Chip wailed as we started to plummet.

"G-geez, Eggman! Simmer down!"

"Wing units, deploy!"

We fell through the very bowels of Eggmanland, now falling into the very inside of the planet itself. I watched as Eggman was hovering safely above us, but I guess what he wasn't expecting was for Chip and I told land on a rock hovering in a sea of magma. Slightly infuriated, he came down to our level and prepared to finish me off himself.

"You were lucky, Sonic. But luck can't last forever!"

Before I could get in a smug retort, Eggman froze the entire rock over with an ice beam, me along with it. I broke myself out before he could get in any extra attacks and ran for his weak point again.

"Every time!" he hissed as I struck the glowing green button without another thought.

"Is it just me, or did the Egg Dragoon gain some very frightening upgrades…?" Chip wondered quietly.

_I did have to admit, the jets of blue fire coming out of the Egg Dragoon's shoulders were definitely a nice touch._

Eggman smacked me away with the sparking drill, followed by swinging it around repeatedly to get in another strike. I got shocked a few times, but overall I managed to evade another smack from the drill and made my way up to the weak points again.

"If only I could get the controls to stop responding again…" I mused to myself as Eggman started to fly away. "Then I could get in another huge strike…"

"GO!"

Next thing I knew, the Egg Dragoon had its head thrown back, and five robots were cast on onto the rock platform. Apparently Eggman thought that since my hands were full with the robots, I'd be more vulnerable.

_But in reality, it was just a fatal mistake on his part. _

"How about this?"

Bullets came flying at me just as I had finished off one robot. Thinking quickly, I ducked behind a second robot, Eggman not watching what he was doing and firing at his own robot. After a single round, I back flipped away just as the clunker detonated. Eggman either didn't care or didn't notice, because right after that he started up his drill again.

"Sorry 'bout this!" I called, kicking two of the robots into the drill's attack range. When Eggman brought the drill around, it sliced his other creations into pieces while I remained unscathed. Eggman certainly took note of that.

"You're not getting away with that!" he remarked, swinging his drill in my direction once again. I just grabbed the nearest robot and hoisted it over my head.

"Oh really?"

I chucked the robot at the drill while ducking under it within the same move. Eggman's frustration practically radiated out of him in waves as he aimed the arm cannon towards me once again.

"Give it up!"

An ice beam came spiraling my way, but I intercepted its flight path with the last robot. The precious metal instantly shattered upon being frozen, and while Eggman was momentarily stunned with shock, I charged up to him and went crazy on the green buttons.

"Worthless and pathetic, huh?" I smirked, bringing the Egg Dragoon down bit by bit. "If that's what describes _me_, I don't know how much lower _you_ can get!"

"Stubborn little pincushion!" I heard Eggman shouted, lifting the drill spear over the Dragoon's head again. "Give up and DIE already!"

"I'll die when I feel like dying!" I protested, standing my ground. "There's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise!"

Without warning, the platform beneath my feet shattered again as the drill broke it into pieces just like before. Chip and I were falling once again, only this time, I wasn't exactly confident that we'd land on something.

"Heh heh heh…here's one for the road, Sonic!"

"Wha-? !"

_Never, ever, look down at your enemy when he's preparing to blast you into smithereens._

I found myself spiraling, after being pounded with the force of a dozen bullets. It was a wonder they hadn't seriously injured me, but they hurt all the same. Regardless of the stupid stunts I performed, regardless of what I was able to endure, regardless of what I claimed otherwise, I was _not_ indestructible.

"Eggman…" I grunted under my breath, eyes closed and hardly able to breathe a word. I was expecting to fall straight into the magma below, but instead, I hit something with a non-skin burning thud.

"Whew! Glad we landed okay!" I heard Chip exclaimed, and I realized that we did land on another rock platform. I felt around just to be sure before I dared to open an eye. I saw Chip relieved to be alive while at the same time was motioning for me to get up, while I also noticed a disturbing blue light out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head in Eggman's direction, I quickly found out his drill had yet another attack.

"You don't stand a chance," he sneered, swiping his drill across the platform. It struck me in the back, sending me flying with scrapes and a shock as a souvenir. Once again, I landed dangerously close to the edge, but I didn't fall.

"How many times do I gotta tell you…it's going to take a lot more than a few whacks and blasts to bring me down!"

Eggman stared at me while the Egg Dragoon began to prepare an ice attack. "I admire your determination, but unfortunately for you, it's going to be the end of you!"

"Well, what can I say?" I jumped over the aftermath of the ice beam and propelled myself towards Eggman. "I die hard."

"You little!" Eggman roared as my claws tore up his beloved machine once again. Right after he said that, the Egg Dragoon froze once again and started to jerk around uncontrollably. "Nnrgh? Lost control AGAIN? Don't fall apart on me now!"

"It's over, Eggman!" I yelled, taking a few steps back before throwing myself at the battle machine once again.

"Says you!" was the retort, Eggman trying to get his systems back online in a frantic manner. "You're the one that's on the ropes!"

"Am I?" I shot back, beginning to glow blue as I sprung into the air. Eggman saw me coming for him right on the spot and tried to shoot me down with the drill again, only to hit himself in the weak spot once more. I made contact with the Dragoon, landing right next to Eggman and greeting him with a smug look on my face. He was panicking, I could tell.

"S-Stay back!" he shouted, backing all the way against his seat in a feeble attempt to get away.

"_Me _stay back? Did _you_ think about staying back when _you_ captured me with an electric field? When _you_ ripped the Chaos Energy right out of me? When _you_ turned me into THIS? !"

Eggman let out another scream as he saw me rev my fist back, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop me at this point.

"It might be Dark Gaia's influence within me, but _you're _the one who caused it to happen! This entire time, I've been dying to get back at _you_!"

I struck the base of his little containment chamber, jarring it from the Egg Dragoon.

"At first, it was pure anger and frustration wanting to make you suffer, but now that I understand everything now, I just want to make you regret it ALL!"

"AAAAUGH! Sonic, you don't know what you're saying!"

Another strike caused the front of Eggman's compartment and the Egg Dragoon to shatter, jostling Eggman from his seat in the process.

"No! Sonic-"

"RAAAARGH!"

All it took was one fist to smack down on Eggman's protective dome, now cracking the glass that was directly preventing Eggman from too much harm. He glanced up at me, and I stared back with a hard look on my face, will power evident in my eyes.

"Eggman, you're going to pay…not just for breaking the world into pieces, or waking up ancient deities for your own idiotic purposes…"

I lifted him right out of the Egg Dragoon and started swinging him around, just to show him just who he was dealing with. He gripped whatever he could get his hands on, meekly pleading with,

"Noo…don't!"

"…You're going to pay _for doing this to me!"_

I chucked him as far away from me as possible, with the Egg Dragoon part crashing onto the platform, and part falling into the magma below. Regardless, the entirety of the Egg Dragoon was blown into pieces, and my work was done.

. . .

"How could I lose? !" Eggman complained to himself, still residing in his Egg Pod. "This isn't over! I'll build a Prototype-2 and it…huh?"

Rising from the depths of the center of the planet, once resting under a nearly endless sea of molten magma, came a huge purple beast that had to be at least seven skyscrapers tall.

Chip and I could see the beast rising from where we stood, Chip gasping and me letting out an unintended "Whoa…"

It was huge, it was gruesome, it was slightly menacing…

_It was Dark Gaia._

* * *

**Oh snap, it's Dark Gaia! :O As if Sonic's fierce battle with the Egg Dragoon wasn't enough...**


	47. And So the Darkness Emerges

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

I gaped up at the massive monstrosity towering over me- that was the thing Chip was forced to battle over and over again? That was the thing that resided in the planet with him for dozens of years at a time? _That_ indescribable _thing_ was what Eggman was after this entire time? !

No wonder Chip was so afraid of the dark.

"Yes, yes!" I could hear Eggman cheering, even from a distance away. "Dark Gaia! Crush this insolent little hedgehog! Kick him to the outer limits of space!"

Just as I had warned him, this order completely backfired when one of Dark Gaia's glowing tentacles raced over at record speed and knocked Eggman to the "outer limits of space".

"Why meeeeeeee? !"

_Because you _really_ thought that ungodly thing was really going to take orders from you._

Once Eggman was taken care of, I noticed that Dark Gaia suddenly turned his attention to something else. It sent out at least six tentacles out in front of him, headed for Chip and I at a breakneck pace.

_Then I found out it was only fixated on me._

I grabbed Chip and leapt out of the way, trying to protect him and myself from the onslaught that was attacking our small platform. This wasn't just Eggman I was dealing with- this was the Gaia of Darkness we were talking about!

I landed on a different platform, letting go of Chip. He hovered just over my shoulder, looking ready to take on Dark Gaia at any moment. I was ready as well, although I suddenly found myself become lost in the monster's gaze, its purple eyes practically staring deep into my soul…

_They brightened, and I experienced some serious and abrupt pain._

Chip was throwing a few practice punches and scowling at his counterpart as I collapsed to the ground, consumed by pain. He quickly noticed me suffering on the ground and floated down to try and help me.

"Sonic? ! What's wrong?" he shouted over the sound of Dark Gaia's battle cries.

I desperately tried to answer Chip, but words wouldn't come out. All I could manage were a few inaudible grunts, gasps, and growls as I clawed against the ground beneath me, trying to make the pain stop. Eventually I had to throw my head back, hardly able to withstand the unbearable pain. A deep purple light emitted from my chest, the aura drifting away from me and advancing toward Dark Gaia.

_It was taking its last piece back from me…_

Three large green eyes sprouted all along its massively oversized head, making Chip recoil in slight disgust. He whirled back to face me, frantically exclaiming,

"Sonic, you've got to get up!"

The process of losing the transformation was a lot more painful than I imagined it'd be- I was expecting it to be even more blissful than when I transformed back into me right after I had met Chip! In reality, having the Dark Gaia power ripped out of me merely left me as a shadow of my former self- a vibrant cobalt blue hedgehog, but severely weakened.

"Sonic!"

"Chip…!" I managed to say between my gasps for air. "R-run, Chip!"

He looked sorrowfully at me for a brief second, following up with a fist clench and a scowl of determination. Light Gaia turned his back to me and toward his arch nemesis, inwardly promising to himself that he would cower no longer.

Dark Gaia sent his six tentacles in our direction, and I braced for impact. This was unnecessary, considering Chip threw up a green shield of light to protect us both.

"Seven lights of the earth rekindled…" he began to recite, still residing behind the barrier. Chip surrounded himself in a shining orb, rising up from the platform.

In my weakened state, all I could do was watch.

. . .

The seven Chaos Emeralds, all resting in their respective shines, each of them representing the seven continents…it was as if they had heard Chip's pleas. They all shot beams of light into the sky, unsettling and worrying people all over the world.

"What's happening?" asked a boy in Adabat.

"Wow! That's just incredible!" exclaimed a man from Chun-Nan, seeing the very Gaia Temple arise out of the ground and into the air.

"The temple!" a man native to Mazuri shouted. He flinched when a bright light overcame him, and when he looked again, the temple was gone in a flash.

All seven of them were coming towards the last piece of the planet- the only place where the center of the world could be reached.

They would all be united soon enough…

. . .

"…Awaken, and gather here to me!"

Chip, only represented as a small glowing orb, was surrounded by the seven temples within moments, transforming into a giant Colossus. Each of the temples fit perfectly with each other, as if that was their true purpose all along. In the heart of it all was Chip, with me now residing on his shoulder.

"Sonic…" Chip called out to me. I was just now pulling myself together, resting on one knee while leaning on the other. I looked up, grabbing my head, then finally decided to get to my feet. It all registered to me quite fast, however.

_Light Gaia was about to fight Dark Gaia. _

The showdown of destiny…despite the fact it was premature timing, it was what they were made to do nevertheless.

I wasn't entirely sure of what I was supposed to do, especially since Light Gaia was prepared to take care of everything himself, so I just held tight and went along for the ride. The Gaia Colossus propelled forward at light speed, soaring over the fiery hot magma below. Dark Gaia noticed his counterpart coming up fast, so he lifted large rocks out of the molten and hurled them in our direction. The Gaia Colossus dodged them all swiftly and continued to fly.

_It was hard to believe I was about to witness probably the rarest phenomenon in history, let alone be a part of it! _

Dark Gaia constantly sent boulders in Light Gaia's direction, being all he could do to delay confrontation. The Gaia Colossus flawlessly maneuvered around the burning rocks, even daring to punch through a couple. Dark Gaia finally caught onto the fact that his rock throws weren't working, so he settled for a more threatening tactic.

"Giant purple laser!" I cried, clinging to the wall and hoping for the best.

The blast was almost completely unavoidable, but I felt the Colossus veer to the left, dodging the laser while blocking his front. Once he was a good distance away from the blast, he bolted forward and flew even faster than before. I poked my head around the corner, watching Dark Gaia's blast pass us by. The shades of blue and purple were beautiful, but that just made it all the more deadly.

We gained on Dark Gaia, getting nearer to the malevolent creature. Being able to catch a closer look, I realized I was still unable to properly describe him. The only things that needed to be mentioned were the purple tentacles protruding out of his back, the small, menacing face in the center of a rather wide head, and the three extra green eyes that watched every movement the Colossus made.

"Hah!" I heard Chip's voice suddenly cry out. I poked my head around the corner once again- now we were up close and personal with the beast itself. I recoiled a bit, but not so much that I couldn't see what was going on. Dark Gaia was preparing another blast, but the Colossus struck the fiend in the jaw and cancelled the blow. Furious, Dark Gaia clawed at Light Gaia with a fast swipe, Chip ducking to the right and just missing it. Instantly after that, the Colossus' fist slammed into Dark Gaia, cuing a loud roar of anguish.

The battling continued just like that- Dark Gaia would strike, Light Gaia would dodge, and the Colossus would strike. Dark Gaia was forced to recoil several times, but that didn't mean the Colossus was completely off the hook either. Light Gaia wasn't able to avoid every attack and accumulated some damage as well. One memorable time had to be when Dark Gaia struck the Colossus' right shoulder, discombobulating Chip and making me nearly fall off the left shoulder. Light Gaia wasn't exactly happy about that one, thus dealing a very successful blow moments later.

Dark Gaia glared daggers at the Colossus, throwing its head back in anguish before capturing it in his clutches. Light Gaia saw it coming and grabbed Dark Gaia as well, the two of them trying to get the upper hand on the other. And for a while, Dark Gaia was winning.

_But what Dark Gaia didn't have was me._

"Sonic…" Chip called out, struggling to keep Dark Gaia away. "Now, Sonic!"

"Roger that buddy," I replied, no longer needing the wall for support. "Hey hey!"

I bounded all throughout the Gaia Temples in large leaps, making my way up to where the Colossus' arm was. From there, I could get to Dark Gaia and_ finally_ be able to help Chip out.

"Time for the big finale!"

"You have to hit Dark Gaia's weak spot, quick, while I hold him back!"

"Chip, you rock!"

I wasted no time in getting myself to Dark Gaia, not even bothering to think- I just ran. My surroundings were all just a blur I was moving so fast- which really wasn't any different from normal. Dark Gaia's tentacles wrapped their way around the Colossus as well, giving Light Gaia another disadvantage. I leapt over Dark Gaia's appendages while sliding under fallen pieces of debris from the temples. A few ramps were in my path as well, some of them sending me spiraling right onto a grind rail. I grinded my way down, ducking under more tentacles and jumping back and forth from rail to rail to avoid them as well.

"Hurry, Sonic! Dark Gaia's getting ready to do something!"

"Hang tight, Chip!" I shouted back, launching myself over one more ramp. Dark Gaia's first giant green eye was in my sights, my one and only target. I did several flips in the air, getting closer and closer to the huge eyeball. Slightly disturbing to say, I spin dashed into the eyeball several times before spinning into the air, then finished it off with a direct kick. Dark Gaia let go of Chip instantly, tossing its head around to get rid of the pain.

"Are you okay, Sonic?" Chip asked, up righting himself and taking off toward Dark Gaia again. I stood myself back up, finding it a miracle that I had managed to land on the Colossus after Dark Gaia tossed me off.

"I'm fine, what about you?"

"A little banged up, but okay."

"So what do we do now?"

"We'll have to confront him again," was the reply, the Gaia Colossus swerving between rocks again.

"So all I need to do is give it three black eyes? Hmph, not very fitting for a monster made of nothing but darkness…"

"You're underestimating him, Sonic…"

I blinked with surprise, but said nothing more on the matter. The Gaia Colossus dodged, avoided, and punched through rocks, just as nimbly as before. He dared to grab one and fling it right back at Dark Gaia! I whistled, but Dark Gaia wasn't as impressed as I was.

"Chip! Look out! Another laser!" I shouted uncontrollably. I was just afraid something would go wrong and I'd get knocked right into the magma below. But, I trusted in Chip, and held tight to the wall once again. The Colossus put up its arm once again to defend against the blast, but it wasn't needed considering he managed to avoid its wrath once more.

"Here we go again!" cried Chip, getting close enough to strike Dark Gaia. Dark Gaia swatted back, and the two of them were lost in a fury of fists and claws. After receiving a harsh blow to the jaw, Dark Gaia retaliated by grabbing the Colossus legs and preparing to throw him out of the way. Chip thought quickly and grabbed Dark Gaia's head again, refusing to let go. I took this as my cue and bolted once again.

"I won't let you down, Chip!" I assured, running down a path before jumping into a set of rainbow loops.

"You couldn't…do that if you tried!" Chip replied, continuing to hold Dark Gaia back. I decided not to distract him any longer and focused on getting to the second eye. I raced through loops in the paths, ricocheted off walls, and boosted over several ramps as well. Eventually, I could see the second eye from midair, so I curled up into a blue ball and rocketed forward.

"Yah! Bam, bam, bam, bam, WOO!"

"RARGH!"

I fell back onto the Colossus before Dark Gaia cast him away, grabbing both of his injured eyes. I smirked, standing up and dusting myself off.

"All that leave is the ugly one in the middle of his head!" I exclaimed. "Shouldn't be too hard of a target to miss!"

"I'll wear him down again, then you can get in the final blow!" Chip exclaimed, taking off once again. I stood proudly on the shoulder, ready to move when necessary.

_I didn't have to be here, in the midst of a fight between the two forces of the planet itself. I didn't have to be risking my neck down here, but hey, I did! And not only was it for the sake of the entire world, it was kind of fun too!_

I felt sort of guilty as I thought that, watching as rocks came flying dangerously close to us, but being completely harmless when they whizzed by. I had chosen to fight Dark Gaia because I could, and because I wanted help Chip. But Chip himself didn't get a choice- he_ had_ to, otherwise he'd fail the duty given to him billions of years ago and leave the world in darkness.

"The price of a hero, I suppose…" I muttered to myself, still ready to spring into action. While I was busy contemplating, the Gaia Colossus was avoiding a third laser from Dark Gaia- this time, it lost a chunk of its right shoulder in the process.

_Boy, was I glad I was on the opposite shoulder._

"This shouldn't take long," Chip stated, getting back at Dark Gaia for removing his shoulder. Dark Gaia didn't take kindly to that and gave Chip a taste of his own medicine. The entire Colossus shook like crazy, rendering me hardly able to keep my balance. Chip tried to help me, but I told him just to focus on not getting hit again. As a response, the Colossus tackled Dark Gaia, Light Gaia definitely getting the advantage this time. I let out a yelp as I was thrown into the wall, followed by hanging onto a piece of debris for dear life. Light Gaia wrestled his dark counterpart, with Dark Gaia trying to shove him away. The two went at it once again, and I would have gone flying if I hadn't been hanging onto the debris.

"N-Now, Sonic! Go!"

"Sure thing, Chip…" I replied, reluctantly letting go and floundering to get going. Light and Dark Gaia were still punching and pushing at each other, and both of them were fighting back with the same amount of strength.

_The only way to turn the tides rested with me._

Flying over a ramp and spiraling through a rainbow loop, I was nothing but a blue streak tearing through the seven temples that made up the colossus. I jumped precisely in between Dark Gaia's purple tentacles and drifting around the winding paths as well.

"Just one more…just one more…" I repeated to myself, and after that, it would be finished.

_There was still a problem nagging in the back of my mind, however. What did Chip mean by me underestimating Dark Gaia? I mean, we were beating him down easy enough, weren't we?_

But then again, I didn't have previous battle experience with Dark Gaia like he did, so I gave the thought the benefit of the doubt as I leapt over a gap. I landed on a Boost Pad, accelerating around ninety degree angles and bounding over huge gaps in the path. Another one blasted me over several ramps, but none of them were the one I needed to reach Dark Gaia's third eye.

"Hurry, Sonic!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

My momentum never slowed as I skidded, jumped, ducked, and ran all the way to the end of the path. I even navigated through broken parts of the temple where I could've slipped off very easily. It took me longer than it should have to get the final eye in my sights, but it was just good to know I was almost there. Dark Gaia was becoming restless and he was getting ready to overpower the Colossus at any moment!

"Not while I'm here…" I trailed, flying off a ramp and feeling as though all time began to stop. As I slowly soared about in the air, Dark Gaia's last eye rolled its gaze up to me, as if to threaten me with a final warning. Time around me sped up as I charged forward, striking the eye right in the pupil. I ricocheted off and flashed a grin before heading in to get the last blow.

"Ready…?"

I curled into a ball, charging power as the eyeball below me awaited its inevitable fate.

"GO!"

With that, Dark Gaia literally hurled the Gaia Colossus away, throwing its head back as both his hands flew to the recently injured eye. Once I returned to the Colossus' shoulder, standing with my hand on my hip and an intent look, I noticed his center eye turned red, and I knew I had done some serious damage.

_But, just as quickly as I had finished him, Dark Gaia bounced right back._

I instantly crouched, ready to spring. "What the-"

Dark Gaia raised his arms over his head, as if nothing had even happened to him. A huge purple force suddenly spewed out of his mouth, and not even Chip was sure as to how to react.

"Hmm…?" I pondered, standing up straight again and wondering just what was going on.

. . .

Unknown to me, Dark Gaia was sending his power all over the world, consuming it whole in eerie purple darkness. His influence spread across the world, regardless of whatever time of day it was.

People from all across the globe were sent into a panic- the world had just been saved, what was going on _now_? The skies filled with the dark aura, people of all sorts running out of their houses to get a better look.

Back in Shamar, Amy and Professor Pickle had rushed out of the lab, also wondering what all the commotion was about.

"Wh-what's happening?" Amy gasped, instantly worrying as soon as she caught a glimpse of the sky. Pickle was just gazing up, looking rather hopeless. "It…was broad daylight a moment ago!"

"Dark Gaia has regained its true power," Pickle explained. "The beast is complete. It's just as the Gaia Manuscripts foretold. And the world shall be plunged into the dark of night, the dark of destruction..."

He collapsed to his knees, unable to stand while being so overwhelmed. "Oh, that it should come to this…we're doomed! The planet is lost!"

"That won't happen!" Amy cried, contradicting the professor. "There's no way Sonic will let it end like this!"

After receiving no response, Amy turned the other way, praying from the bottom of her heart that I would succeed.

. . .

Apparently Dark Gaia still had a few tricks up his sleeves, as he stood up straight and released a loud howl. Four extra arms emerged out of his body, spraying a nasty green goo in every direction. And if that wasn't enough to make someone wretch, the mere fact his entire head split to reveal four more eyes definitely would.

Now with six arms, seven eyes, and hardly even remotely resembling the old dark creature, Perfect Dark Gaia prepared to finish Light Gaia and I off once and for all.

_But, as Amy said, I wasn't about to let it end this way. _

I couldn't help myself- I'm not even exactly sure how it happened. I was full of determination to stop Dark Gaia at all costs, and fueled by will power to bring light back to the world. The moment I clenched my fist and glared at Dark Gaia, the seven Chaos Emeralds within the temples began to shine once again, eventually flying toward me. They all began to circle me rhythmically, and I knew what I had to do.

"All right then…" I breathed, closing my eyes and spreading out my arms. I began to glow as bright as the Chaos Emeralds, lifting my legs up off the ground and curling into a fetal position. Mere seconds later, I burst with energy, now donning a yellow aura and ruby red eyes. "Let's do it!"

_And as Super Sonic, I was ready to finally put an end to this._

* * *

**Ah, the final boss...not quite as intense as the fight with Dr. Eggman, in my opinion, but I'm still satisfied with the outcome all the same.  
****  
And also, with the two versions of the game, the fight with Dark Gaia is different in each one. So, what I did was take the elements of both versions and fused them into one! So, if there's a part in the fight you're not quite familiar with, then that's why. ^^**


	48. Showdown for Everything

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

Hovering high above the fiery threat below, I just looked on as Dark Gaia's tentacles no longer seemed to protrude out of his back. Instead, they were sticking up out of the magma, creating a shield that prevented me from reaching the deity within.

"All right Chip! Time for the big finish!"

I bolted forward in a burst of light, yellow flames dancing behind me. Chip was a bit surprised to see how far I was going with my promise, but only managed a small "Sonic…!"

Together we wove our way through flying rocks (as bizarre as it was), trying to reach the dome surrounding Dark Gaia. I avoided them all with lightning reflexes while the Colossus had the ability to crush the rocks in its grasp. I collected rings along the way, keeping my energy up and gifting me with extra power! I attempted to break through the dome, believing I could do it, but I was apparently wrong when I bounced right off.

"Rgh! I gotta take out this shield!"

Chip, meanwhile was on the other side of the dome, getting ready to make a move of his own.

"My turn, Sonic!"

"H-Hey! What're you doing, Chip? !"

To answer my question of "What the heck did Chip think he could do?", the Gaia Colossus managed to dig its fingers into the shield, separate it into a hole, and enter the dome with Dark Gaia. I was thoroughly impressed, especially considering I couldn't even do something like that! Once inside, the Gaia Colossus turned to me and gave a small wave.

"Chip, I…you were…Wow!" I exclaimed, obviously stunned.

"I'll get its attention, Sonic!" he floated over to Dark Gaia and began to battle it once more. "You do something about this shield!"

I gave Chip a nod and glided over the surface of the shield, looking for a place to strike. With my luck, one of the tentacles, now sporting a snake head, poked its head out of the shield and tried to take a snap at me.

"Looks like the snake thing is the weak spot!"

Altering my course, I made a u-turn and slammed into the snake head, performing the maneuver several times until it squealed in defeat and recoiled. I broke out in a grin as I soared around the dome, Chip congratulating me as he continued to distract Dark Gaia. As I made my way around, I noticed the Gaia Colossus getting pushed around quite a bit, and I knew I had to take down the shield before Chip was unable to fight anymore.

"Guess I'd better find more snake heads, then…"

It didn't take long for the next one to pop out in front of me and knock me away. Snarling, I charged up some power and propelled forward, this time not letting myself get smacked around. I curled up into a ball and struck in right in the throat, causing it to be unable to breathe. It shriveled up and descended into the molten rock, leaving me with still a few more tentacles to take care of.

I circled the dome at least five times- the snake heads started to catch on to what I was doing, and they were becoming a lot more apprehensive about becoming vulnerable. What was slightly more annoying was that they were teasing me- poking their heads out, then pulling back in just as I came around.

"Weaklings!" I complained, not allowing myself to miss another one. I even grabbed a hold of the next snake I found and kicked it repeatedly just to make sure it wouldn't get away. Another one was lurking around not too far off, so at the speed of light, I flew over there and gave that one a piece of my mind as well.

"It's a shame you're keeping me from facing Dark Gaia," I stated coolly, uppercutting it with my foot in a repeated fashion. "Otherwise I wouldn't have a beef with ya, buddy! UNH!"

The fourth snake head fell to a fiery fate, and I still had no idea how many I had left to go. I glanced into the dome, trying to see how Chip was faring, but I couldn't see him. Instead, I was face to face with a laser that Dark Gaia was firing, and I was very fortunate that the shield kept things in as well as out.

_But where did Chip go?_

I rounded the dome again, not just searching for more snake heads but looking for Chip as well. I eventually found him sneaking up behind Dark Gaia and grabbing him from the back. I managed a light smile, then continued my snake hunt.

"Hoo…he had me going for a few moments…" I sighed to myself. "That was close!"

I kept taking out the tentacles, one snake head at a time. Each of them only needed four hits to collapse, and I was pretty sure I was half way done after taking care of four more. I snuck another glance at Light and Dark Gaia- what they were doing _had_ to be more interesting than me going in circles.

"Nargh!" I heard Chip cry, watching as he tumbled backward from the latest blow. I was feeling a bit exhausted, but then I thought about how Chip had to feel. Just as I thought he was about to crash into the magma, he stopped himself from falling, picked himself up, and returned the favor to Dark Gaia. A low growl emitted from Dark Gaia's throat as he struck the Colossus again, and this time, it didn't rebound back as quickly. I scowled and rapidly punched at the dome, futilely trying to get in.

"Cowards hide behind shields!" I barked, trying to kick my way in. "If you didn't have this lousy dome hovering over you, I'd kick you in each of your seven eyes until you were blind! And you couldn't hurt Chip anymore!"

Dark Gaia sent out another blast in my direction, the Colossus getting caught up in it as well. It slammed against the wall of the dome, but when it turned to face me, it looked completely fine.

"I'm okay, Sonic…just focus on taking down the shield and then you can carry out your threats!"

"I know…" I admitted, slightly hanging my head. "I just wish there was something more I could do right now, though…"

"There's only three tentacles left! You can do it!" Chip assured as he returned back to battle. I frowned a bit, then took a deep breath and set out once again.

_Flying just above the dome almost gave me the same sensation as grinding on a rail, and I had no idea why. The only similarity between the two I could feel was the fact that nothing was holding me back as I went as fast as I possibly could… _

"Still…I need…to go…a little faster," I huffed, still pushing for more speed. I was already going so fast that I didn't see the next snake head right in front of me. I snapped out of my thoughts on the spot, after unintentionally dealing a blow to the snake head. I shook it off and charged again, hitting it three more times before it fell defeated.

"Two more now…"

Without another word, I blurred into a bright yellow streak, taking off around the shield in search of the next snake head. Chip helped me out a little by grabbing one of the two and thrusting it into my range. I acknowledge him with thanks, then proceeded to attack. Four punches brought it down, and now only one remained.

_One snake away from confronting Dark Gaia myself…_

A violent boom echoed throughout the area, signaling that I had taken off again. I went around the dome exactly ten times before the final snake head dared to poke its head out. On my eleventh lap, I struck the head harshly twice, my blows doing double the damage. It let out the same inhumane squeal the snake heads performed before it, falling into the magma to join the rest.

"Yes! The shield is down!" I cheered as I watched it disappear.

"I knew you could do it," stated Chip confidently.

"We're not finished yet…" I trailed however, eyeing Dark Gaia out of the corner of my eye. I saw him take note that his shield was gone, and prepared to take his anger out on the nearest thing- the Gaia Colossus.

Chip really didn't have a chance this time, considering it was six huge arms versus two smaller ones. Quickly seeing Chip in danger, I flew down to help, one fist extended out in front of me.

"Chip! I'll be right there!"

In the blink of an eye, I knocked away the hand that gripped the Colossus' left leg. To Dark Gaia, it probably felt like the equivalent of a bug bite, but it was still enough to get him to release Chip. I then struck the one grasping the right leg, followed by the one holding the Colossus' left side. I could tell Chip was starting to relax, while Dark Gaia was becoming increasingly more irritated. I dislodged the right side, followed by the left shoulder. At this point Chip could've easily escaped himself, but I decided to finish what I started and removed the hand from the right shoulder as well.

"Eat THIS!"

Obviously he wasn't swallowing that down well, because when I looked back, he was preparing a huge blast again, this one set to fire from his mouth!

_Good thing it wasn't actually a laser…_

I froze to the spot and gasped, only to be saved by the Colossus shielding me from the blast and taking it on himself.

"C-Chip…?"

I could sense that he was fighting the urge not to be consumed by the blast, trying to hold it off just long enough so that it would disperse without harming anyone. All I could do was just watch and hope that Chip could pull it off.

"C'mon, c'mon…" I whispered through gritted teeth, simply willing Chip to hold off the blast for as long as he could.

Just as the blast was about to blow the Colossus into bits, Chip spread out his arms and expelled the last away. Dark Gaia recoiled, a stunned look to his seven-eyed expression. Light Gaia smirked before flying right up to Dark Gaia, revving up his fist, and striking hard into his arch enemy.

"Here I come!" I called, flying out from behind the Colossus and aiming for Dark Gaia's face. "NOW!"

Dark Gaia held up all six of its massive hands to shields itself, but I simply flew between his long clawed fingers without any hassle. When I got close enough, Dark Gaia closed its center eye, but still left six more for me to attack. I just chuckled to myself, continuing my flight sprint. I collided with the leftmost one on the spot, showing Dark Gaia I meant business.

"I've gotta be careful though…" I reminded myself. "If I push too hard, I'll run out of energy…"

_But it was still just a chance I would have to take. _

Dark Gaia swatted me away, knowing fully well that I would come back for him. I gathered up a few rings though before even thinking about heading for him again. I just needed to watch out for the rocks coming my way. As I did, I stared into his five still opened eyes, and something inside of me just started talking.

"You may be incapable of understanding me..." I started slowly, ducking under one of the boulders Dark Gaia chucked at me. "...but there's something I'm going to tell you."

Dark Gaia just roared in response, not caring like I had figured. Regardless of if he was really listening to me or not, I was going to speak my mind.

I surrounded myself with yellow aura flames, Super Sonic Boosting off without another thought. The rocks being thrown at me were completely discounted as I whizzed right by them, flying straight up to Dark Gaia and into another eye. He lurched back, just like before, grabbing his face and writhing in pain.

"I could destroy you just because of what you've done to me, what you've made me suffer through all this time, and the things that you've caused me to do that I wouldn't normally even think about…I could send you back into the depths of the world just because you filled me with darkness..."

"Sonic...?" I heard Chip's voice ring out, but I held up a hand to stop him from continuing. My ruby red eyes sparkled with determination, like they always did, but this time...they seemed to glow just a bit more. I would have smiled if I wasn't trying to get to my point across in a serious manner.

"You..._no one_...could understand...the pain I had to endure..." I continued, my voice starting to quiver only slightly. It was still as strong as a brick wall, despite having a few cracks in it. "Lost, confused, unsure...I didn't trust myself at night...I was frightened beyond belief...but where would that get me?"

"Sonic, you-" Chip had tried to interrupt again. Dark Gaia hurled more boulders at me- I punched straight through one, then swerved around the others. I was approaching his large, hate-filled eyes once again.

"No, Chip..." I pleaded, my voice not as hard as it was when I was talking to his dark counterpart. "This is something I need to let out..."

Chip stopped trying to intervene and hung back once again. I silently thanked him as I tore between an onslaught of boulders for the second time, not holding back as I slammed into the third eye.

"I was on the verge of believing I had lost myself...but then, I realized the true reason why I was still carrying on. Chip was always by my side, and whenever I was downing on myself, he was right there to pick me back up." The edges of my mouth curved up very slightly. "Turns out he was right. I never lost myself- I'm too strong for that. If I really did forget just who I am, then I wouldn't be here facing you, now would I?"

I flew away from Dark Gaia as he grabbed his demon-face once again, screeching in pain. I was gifted with a row of rings, and I took them up gratefully. Now brimming with power again, I faced Dark Gaia once more.

_Everything I had wanted to say all along...I finally found the right words to explain it all..._

"So I could defeat you for revenge-"

_Heh, like Shadow would..._

"-but the reason I'm taking you down is because I'm fighting for the whole world right now, and all the innocent people you've managed to hurt in some way..." At last, I smiled, and my golden aura seemed to shine brighter. I turned to Light Gaia and winked. "Besides...do I need a reason to want to help out a friend?"

Chip finally caught on to what I was saying and laughed lightly, even going so far as to applaud my speech. Smirking, I turned back to Dark Gaia and pointing accusingly at him.

"As for you…you may not be completely vanquished- heck, you may not even ever die- but right now, I'm here to stop you from sinking the world into eternal darkness…that's just not how things are meant to be!"

Dark Gaia lurched forward and retorted to me with a beastly roar before swatting at me yet again. I zipped out of the way, weaving and bobbing away from his other assaults as well. When he finally let up, I Boosted, taking off for the fourth eye. Dark Gaia saw me coming and hurled more boulders, one of them managing to nick me.

_I hoped I wasn't getting too careless- that could really cost me big time…_

"Even if I could, I wouldn't completely destroy you." I gave his next eye a critical kick, sending waves of pain washing over him. "I might have hated going through the night as that beastly thing you caused me to morph into…but that doesn't mean I don't like night in general! Nighttime has the potential to be very beautiful…and I can't live without night, and I'm fairly sure the rest of the world can't either…"

I was secretly hoping that Dark Gaia would catch on to my reason and stop all the nonsense, but as expected, he just roared in my face and tried to hack at me like a ham. I did a backflip to dodge, but then Dark Gaia spread out all six of his arms, and I wondered just what he was up to.

I found out very quickly- all six hands came swooping in my direction, and it wouldn't have mattered if I moved, I would've been hit by at least one hand…thought it had to be better than six at once…

"O-ow…"

I winced, flying around to try and collect more rings. Dark Gaia continued to try and smack me, but I refused to let him. Six at once was more than enough…

I had only managed to gather ten rings, which was barely enough to keep me in the air, but it was going to have to do. Somewhat reluctantly, I boosted forward again, as it was the only way to get back up close and personal with Dark Gaia.

"…and like I was saying before, just as much as people can't live without night, they can't live without day either. This adventure has made me appreciate the light, mornings, and blues skies a lot more than ever before, but contrary to belief, I'd probably get bored with constant sunshine. After all, there are things you can do at night that you can't in the day! Think of what I'd be missing out on!"

Rocks flew to either side of me, not even scratching me this time. I blasted myself into the fifth eye, going through the same process all over again.

"Eh, if anyone was around now…they'd think I'm crazy for talking to you like this…" I chuckled to myself.

"I'm here, and I don't think you're crazy…" Chip pointed out. I laughed again.

"Well, that's_ you_, Chip…"

I then focused my attention of getting more rings, avoiding Dark Gaia's lethal swipes, and most importantly, not dying. This time around, I was only able to manage to gather eight rings, which was really risking my chances and for once, I wasn't sure if I was willing to take it.

_Nearly being struck by Dark Gaia managed to help me make up my mind though._

I used the ring energy to throw myself forward, barely leaving me one to spare. I gulped, knowing that I would have to act quickly if I wanted to survive this one.

"You don't get it, do you…?" I asked Dark Gaia, even though I received a rock to the face in return rather than a legit response. "The world's balance…it's represented in the form of night and day! Sometimes the night is stronger and longer than the day and vice versa…but overall, both sides are equal! You and Light Gaia, you represent this ongoing struggle…in retrospect, you're not really "evil", and Chip isn't necessarily "good", if you know what I mean…"

I hardly felt myself strike the sixth eye- I was too busy in search of more rings and clenching my final one like a lifeline. I almost didn't care if Dark Gaia hit me- I was moving too fast for him to strike anyway. My heart started beating faster- I could feel the ring in my hand slowly disappear, and then I'd be doomed. It was all I could do to stay flying at this point, and Dark Gaia_ knew_ that.

Just as I managed to find eight more rings right when my last one disappeared, Dark Gaia's seventh eye opened up as he lifted his six arms, preparing to slash at me in all directions again. However, I did the opposite of what anyone would think I should do- I went right in the middle, and I remained unscathed.

"Excellent!"

Dark Gaia wasn't finished with me yet- just as I was about to jet forward, he suddenly created a large electric net, preventing me from coming any closer. Confused, I grabbed a few extra rings as I tried to find a place to strike at.

"He's going to shoot at you! Get ready to smack his blasts right back at him!" Chip cried.

I really didn't want to do that, but if it was the only way to get by, then I had to.

He only aimed three blasts in my direction, but the time I wasted just to stay safe was very critical. The first one I shot back with a spin, the second with a kick, and the third with a direct punch. The trio of blasts stunned Dark Gaia momentarily, giving me my chance. Finally, I was able to go in for the final strike…

And my rings were depleting as I went.

_Seven left- I thought of Eggmanland and its amusement park theme, and how I almost didn't make it out alive._

_Six left- I thought of Adabat, and how mine and Chip's last day there went, next to the crystal beaches and deep in the jungle._

_Five left- I thought of Shamar, where the sands taught me a lesson and where Amy and Pickle were waiting for me._

_Four left- I thought of Chun-Nan, and how if I made it out of this, I would definitely visit when the death rate there was lower._

_Three left- I thought of Holoska, recalling the feeling of the snow against me as I took a nap in it._

_Two left- I thought of Spagonia, where my adventure really began…where I first met the Professor after tearing through Mazuri to save him…_

_One left- I thought of Apotos…the single best place on the planet. It was where I met up with Tails again after so long, where I had one of the best days of my life, where Chip and I ate our ice creams and just watched as the day slowly passed us by…_

In a single Sonic Boom blast, only at the speed of light, I catapulted myself into Dark Gaia's final eye, leaving him with no more strength to terrorize me, Chip, or any other people residing on the planet…

Dark Gaia toppled backwards, his massive body slowly sinking into the depths of the magma bit by bit. His eyes were dripping with the gross green goo, all seven of them damaged from my brutal onslaughts. I floated over the scene, getting an area view of Dark Gaia's defeat and my victory.

I was so exhausted; I couldn't even enjoy myself to the fullest. The most I could do was give a weak smile and a feeble thumbs up…because after that, my eyes shut as the red in them turned back to green, my golden glow faded back to blue, and I started to fall.

The Gaia Colossus saw me collapse, rushing over to catch me in the green orb that had saved me once before…I landed softly in the palm of the Colossus, not that it mattered how comfortably I landed, because I was completely unresponsive…

_If I didn't make it out...at least I would be satisfied. I'd be leaving the world as a better, brighter place...and I enjoyed the last few days, more so than ever before..._

_Everything was okay._


	49. The Possibilities Are Never Ending

Unleashing Sonic: Story Mode

The darkness that covered the world like a blanket dispersed after the defeat of Dark Gaia- not permanently gone, but vanquished for another million or so years to come. The skies cleared up instantly, filling the citizens of the world with renewed hope and faith. People from all over celebrated, and it was as if all the continents of the globe had come together as one…

_I had done exactly what I was supposed to do- save the world._

Maybe it wasn't my destiny, or my place to interfere, but I was glad that I helped Chip out, and I would gladly do it all over again if needed. I got to see the world in its entirety, I made new friends and rekindled the flame with old ones, and I had the greatest time doing it all…

_Even if there were a few downsides to being a hero, like being at high risk of dying almost twenty-four seven, all the good parts definitely made it worth it…_

. . .

Somewhere in some remote location was Eggman, resting against his up righted Egg Pod, wallowing in his failure. His round headed robot, on the other hand, had a much more lighthearted take on the situation.

"Pleasant morning, wouldn't you say, Doctor?" he asked, watching the sun rise over the horizon.

Eggman just grunted in response.

"You can simply begin your plans anew. Even if all your efforts this time were utterly wasted. Even if it was a complete and utter humiliating loss. Even the most pathetic loser in all the world will sure have his chance to-"

"Oh, SHUT UP!"

Eggman sprung to his feet, revving his leg back to give his robot a hearty kick. Being the clever contraption that he was, Orbot simply bent over backwards, causing Eggman's kick to fail and for him to land right on his back. Now in a blind rage, Eggman chased down his own robot into the sunrise…

_And yet, he was already forming his plan of revenge…_

. . .

Back in Shamar, the people there were rejoicing just like the rest of the world. Pickle was noticeably the most grateful for a blue sky once more.

"Ah, the light reigns over darkness and the world is returned to peace. It's simply a miracle. We've been saved by a miracle!"

_That miracle being me, of course._

"I told you, didn't I?" Amy Rose boasted, wearing a grin that couldn't get any wider. "There was no way Sonic would let something like that happen!"

"And right you were. Still…we cannot live without the night. We all must sleep. We all must rest. Darkness is a part of our world, just the same as light. It may be that the darkness has not been destroyed, but merely laid to rest. It grows strong over eons, rises up, then is put to slumber by the light. Perhaps that is the true balance of Dark and Light Gaia…that balance may be the very will of the planet itself."

Amy listened patiently, waiting a few moments to take it all in before grabbing Pickle's hand.

"Save the speech for later. We've got to get things ready for Sonic's coming home party!"

And so they returned to the lab to prepare things for my return…

_Yeah…IF I was going to return…_

. . .

Back beneath the seventh continent, which was slowly once again putting itself back in place, I continued to rest in the palm of the Gaia Colossus, motionless.

_What was I thinking? It was obviously not my place to meddle…I took on too much, along with tackling someone else's job…and _now_ look where it got me…_

Even if I was able to move, there was no way I could get back up to the surface before the continent sealed itself and trapped me beneath the planet forever. Eggman was right, this gorge was going to be my grave…

As I rested, Chip came down to check on me, to see if I was truly out. He was no longer a solid being- he was now nothing more than a spirit, a manifestation of the light. But he still looked like good ol' Chip.

"Sonic…" he said sorrowfully, watching me. He regretted allowing me to tag along, he regretted not doing something more…he regretting letting it end like this. His first and probably only true friend, now doomed to be lost in the underground, never to see the light of day again.

"Sonic, you have to live!"

No response- what was the point of even trying? Chip turned his back, but not before giving me a final wave, and started to float away. There was no point in trying to save me if I was already gone. Time was running out- everything would return back to normal all too soon…

"_C-Chip…?"_

A sound escaped my lips- Chip's name, a sign I was still breathing! Chip stopped on a dime, glancing back down at me. I was still pretty unconscious, but I was alive. A smile spread across Chip's face, the Gaia of Light not taking his eyes off of me as he ascended back into the Colossus. There was still time…

Holding me tight in his fist, and revving his right arm back, the Gaia Colossus chucked me upwards, surrounding me in a green sphere to affirm a safe trip back to the surface.

_The green sphere…Chip had saved me even before I knew it was him…_

I hung limply on my way back up, still out cold from my tedious battle. The continent was almost completely back in place, but I would make it.

_But to think…I'd never see Chip again…I never even got the chance to tell him goodbye…or to thank him for saving my life…This was apparently the way we would separate…the way I couldn't predict…_

Light Gaia saw me out as he was consumed by the fiery furnace within the planet, being sealed away by the seventh continent once and for all…

. . .

"Nooooo…!"

Apparently I was tossed a bit_ too_ high, because I was now falling down instead of up. Landing head first into the ground was definitely a good wake up call, because I was certainly awake after that. I dislodged my head from the ground, stumbling back a bit before grabbing my now aching head.

"Ow…"

_Falling out of the sky hurts a lot more when you are not a darkness-filled beast._

I scanned my surroundings- I was back in Apotos! Talk about de ja vu…and to add to the eerie coincidences, I found Chip, lying on the same spot as from when I first saw him. Consumed with disbelief, I rushed over to wake him up, but to my disappointment he disappeared, just a figment of my imagination…

_But he left behind his necklace._

I picked it up, and it was almost as if Chip was talking to me through it…because I certainly heard someone that sounded like Chip speaking to me.

"_I'll never forget you. I'll be here by you, always. A part of the earth you tread…"_

Without a word, I slipped his necklace on my wrist, just like before. I was going to miss him, but as long as he was with me…well, I think I'd do alright. I took in the beauty of an Apotos sunrise one last time before running off to my next adventure.

"Hey, Sonic!"

I looked over my shoulder- Tails was pulling up alongside me in the Tornado, perfectly fine and waving eagerly. I saluted him back, slowing down so I could run next to the plane. We had so much to talk about, so much to discuss…what happened, how'd I take down Dark Gaia, where Chip was, what was going to happen next…there was going to be a time for all that, but not right now.

After every adventure, there's a time when a hero needs to just think about what's he been through, what he managed to survive through…he feels grateful for still being alive, he cherishes the lessons he's learned along the way, and then he takes a nice long rest after it's all over…

_Unless you're me and just want to find the next__ robot to smash. _

Some people have a hard time going from one thing to the next, but I was never like that, and I never will be. Each adventure is just another chapter in my life, with each one being more meaningful and eventful than the last. I'd miss Chip, but then again, I miss everyone who I haven't seen in months as well.

_The thing about Chip was, he meant just a little bit more to me…_

I didn't want to say we'd never meet again, because although it was very unlikely, it wasn't exactly impossible- anything could happen! The list of probabilities could go on and on! I may never speak to him again, and I may never be able to give him my proper thank you or goodbye, but what did I know?

_The possibilities are endless, after all._

* * *

**I wanted to end this with a bang, but considering what the ending already was and the story itself, well, I think it all turned out just the way it should have. :)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or just took time out of their lives to read something I wrote. I really enjoyed doing this story, and it's definitely one of my favorites...and after how long it took, I'm pretty amazed it's finished. :P**


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